Heat of a Frozen Infatuation
by Stariceling
Summary: Admiration, fascination, and something deeper. Max's feelings for his seemingly cold teammate are just being realized. Chapter 12: Kai has a lot of thinking to do after getting a kiss from Max, while Max tries not to think too hard about Kai's rejection. Max/Kai
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone. If you didn't check the summary please know this fic is pre-slash, meaning there's some hinted boy/boy affection. If that's not what you're looking for, I trust you know where the back button is and please have a pleasant day.

For those still here: I hope you enjoy! This chapter works as a stand-alone oneshot for now. If I ever manage to get the rest of my ideas for this story written down I promise the title will actually mean something.

EDIT: Well, I'm back again to write this budding epic in earnest. Please wish me luck!

This story (at least the first half of what I have planned) is slightly AU after episode 27 of season 2 (V-Force), so just imagine if the Bladebreakers took a month off right after their fight in Battle Tower. This will eventually have some spoilers up to that point. However, I think you can still follow at least this first part even if you've only watched the first season.

Rating has been changed to "T" for violence in later chapters.

* * *

"There!" Max exclaimed, swiping the last bits of snow from the windshield with his mittened hands. "Now we can go back in, right?"

They had all been enlisted to help clear the front drive and the BBA van of snow, though Max refused to accept it being called 'training.' It was more like chores in his mind, and now his shoulders ached and his mittens were soaked through, and he was past ready to be done.

When he'd first heard about it, Max had jumped at the chance to train in Russia with his teammates. They'd hardly had time to really enjoy the locale properly when they were there for the world championships, after all. Now the place was starting to wear on Max. After southern California it was just so _cold_ all the time. There was nothing but snow all around. The whole landscape was just trees covered in snow, rocks covered in snow, vans covered in snow. . . Max was completely tired of snow.

He was getting tired of everything but training at this point. Any time the four of them weren't battling each other, or occasionally just fighting with each other, it got so boring being stuck out in the middle of nowhere. He'd read every beyblading magazine at the training center at least twice, and he was sick of snowball fights, and outside of training there just didn't seem to be anything else to do.

While everyone else was putting things away and getting ready to go in, Kai seemed to have other plans. The other boy had already put his own shovel away and was heading back down the drive alone.

Max took two steps back from the group to watch Kai. This made the fourth time in as many days that Kai had just gone off by himself. Down the driveway, out to the road. . . and then Kai would be turning left on the main road, away from any civilization Max knew of out here.

A restless breeze caught the fabric of Kai's white scarf until it billowed out behind him, then suddenly made it flick back, like a beckoning finger. It might have been curiosity, or just plain boredom, that prompted Max to respond.

He trotted after Kai, catching up halfway down the drive. Kai glanced over at him, and Max grinned at the characteristically Kai-like lack of reaction to his company.

"Hey, Kai. Can I join you?"

"Why?"

"Why not?" Max didn't really have a reason. He was just bored. Bored enough to sincerely wonder where Kai kept wandering off to, even.

Before Kai could bother to reply, something cold smacked into the back of Max's neck. He yelled, more in surprise than pain, and whirled around to find Tyson doubled over laughing.

"Hey!" Max yelled back at his friend, rubbing the stinging spot where Tyson's snowball had hit him. "What was that for?"

"I was aiming for Kai!" Tyson laughed. "Calm down."

Max scooped up a double handful of snow and charged at Tyson. He was far too competitive to let that go, not with Tyson laughing at him.

"I'll fix your aim!"

Max's first throw went impossibly wide, which only made Ray dart out of the way and Tyson laugh even harder. Once Tyson was incapacitated by laughter, Max had no problem hitting him in the face with a second loose-packed snowball.

Seeing Tyson splutter and wipe snow off of his face was at least funny, until Max turned and found that Kai had just kept walking without him.

"I'm going to get you back for that one!" Tyson was shouting, scooping together more snow to retaliate, but Max wasn't really paying attention at that point.

"I'll pass. See you later!" Max called back. He ducked under Tyson's snowball and ran the rest of the way down the drive after Kai.

Kai didn't even look over at him when Max caught up this time. Max followed along, watching Kai ignore him for a few minutes, before he got bored with the silence and broke it.

"You could have waited for me."

"I didn't think you were coming."

"I just had to take care of something." Max stretched both arms over his head, trying to look as casual about his little victory as Kai always did.

"Hm."

Max let Kai be quiet for a little while. There was nothing but the sound of their feet crunching on the layer of hard snow in the road to break the silence between them.

Little gusts of wind kept playing with Kai's hair, ruffling it so that strands of soft silver and deeper blue twined together. Max found himself distracted into watching the changing patterns Kai's hair made in the wind. Had he let his hair get a little more wild in the last few weeks, or was it just Max's imagination?

Kai's untamed hair made such a contrast to the immobile set of his face. The firm curves of Kai's lips and jaw could have been carved from marble. Kai was so cool and solid, waiting for him to speak was like expecting a statue to speak. Trying to decode his expressions was like trying to see through someone made of stone. Was Kai this inscrutable to everyone? Even though he was looking at Kai all the time, Max still felt he was missing something.

No, Max corrected his own wandering thoughts, he was not looking at Kai all the time. Just sometimes. Like when he had to go running around sleeveless in this weather. It made Max cold just to look at him when he did that. At least Kai had a coat on today, even though he'd left it open for the wind to catch at. At times the movement would reveal Kai's lean body under the coat, and then hide it again as soon as Max looked.

Kai did not so much catch him staring as finally look over, as if to check if he was really still tagging along, and then look away again without a word. It still made Max jump, even if Kai didn't call him on it.

A few steps later Kai turned and stepped off of the road. Max followed unthinkingly. It didn't take long before the thin scattering of pine trees along the road thickened into a proper forest. Max couldn't see a path anywhere.

"So where are we going?" Max finally asked.

"Nowhere. I just wanted to go for a walk."

It was only because Max was looking at Kai's lips again that he noticed how Kai hardly opened his mouth when he spoke. Conversation came out of Kai with the same reluctance that Max would have expected to see if a statue had been prompted to speak.

"What, just to get away from the rest of us for a while?" Max suggested. Kai did seem to step out right when everyone else was getting bored and rowdy.

"More or less."

It actually sounded like a good idea to Max. Just being able to get away for a little while would at least stave off cabin fever.

"You don't mind me tagging along?"

"Not if you're quiet."

Max laughed at that, but he got what Kai was hinting at and stopped asking questions.

It was eerily peaceful under the trees once they stopped talking. The wind didn't touch them here, adding to the stillness. Pines stood with their lowest branches well over Max's head. When he tilted his head back to look he found the afternoon sun blocked out by mats of evergreen needles mantled in heavy snow.

Sometimes the snow really was too heavy. Every so often there would be a distant 'fwumf' as one branch or another bent too far and dropped its weight of snow to the ground. There was no other sound but that of the wind sighing through the treetops above.

The only clear personal memory Max had of evergreens covered in snow was of shop displays at Christmastime. It was hard to even hold up that mental image for comparison. That and this were such completely different things.

This was. . . Max wasn't even sure he recognized the pine forest when he took the time to look. It was all so cold, stark in spite of the green of living needles, but somewhere on the unfamiliar edge of beautiful. There was a breathless quality to it. Not absolute silence, but a frozen stillness in the dim light under trees and snow.

The scent of the pines was everywhere. Even with the air so crisp that Max was half-sure he could smell cold itself, the sharp scent of pine lingered in the back of his throat.

Max finally gave up slogging through snow, and simply stood to stare up and around himself. He hadn't thought he could be taken by surprise by something so everyday as trees and snow, but when he stopped and just looked and breathed, and had to strain his ears to hear even the distant impact of snow in snow. . . .

Kai stopped as well. Max hardly noticed beyond the fact that Kai was suddenly as still and silent as he was. It took a minute for Max to realize that Kai was watching him, not looking around and appreciating the forest.

"Is something wrong?" Kai asked, after they had stared silently at each other for a bit too long.

"Nothing." Max felt suddenly embarrassed, though he wasn't sure why he should care if Kai caught him mooning over the scenery. "My hands are cold," he invented, holding them up as if to hold back Kai's scrutiny, though the complaint did nothing to explain why he had stopped walking. Kai just looked at him, and if he was phased by the odd switch in subject it didn't show.

Max thumped his arms together, trying to warm his hands and had to correct himself. "Actually, they're more numb right now."

Instead of accepting his brush-off Kai came back to him, taking off his own gloves and tucking them into one pocket as he came. That was enough to confuse Max into standing still and just staring at Kai once more.

"Let me see."

Without even waiting for Max to offer his hand Kai had snatched it up and pulled off Max's wet mitten. The skin of Max's hand was a bloodless white from the cold, mottled in places to a faint yellow like the last fading tint of a bruise.

Max had thought his hand numb, but there was a searing heat from Kai's bare hands around his that proved him wrong. When Kai breathed onto his frozen hand it felt as if Kai was breathing fire.

Kai ignored Max's yelp of pain and put Max's fingers in his mouth. That only prompted a louder yelp. Kai's mouth was so hot it burned. Max couldn't even seem to curl his fingers, trapped between Kai's tongue and the roof of his mouth. Both of Kai's hands were wrapped around his, warming it to the point of agony.

With his eyes squeezed closed, Max couldn't even guess the expression that would be on Kai's face at that moment. It wasn't until Kai's body heat stopped being torture and started feeling properly warm that he could even yell at Kai properly.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Max demanded.

Kai released his fingers and pulled a handkerchief from inside his coat to quickly wipe the saliva from Max's hand. Once his fingers were released from Kai's mouth he found the heat had brought a visible change. His skin was blotchy white and red now, and suddenly he could feel the chill of the air on it all over again.

"I'm thawing your hands," Kai snapped at him. His voice was sharper than Max could remember it being in a long time. Sharp enough to cut off Max's complaints at his odd behavior.

Kai took his own glove and forced it onto Max's hand. It was still warm from having Kai's hand in it. Max wasn't used to having his hand ache with warmth like this. . . He curled his fingers together, finding the sight of Kai's black glove on his own hand oddly surreal.

"Don't take that off."

That was all Kai said before he grabbed Max's other hand, which Max didn't exactly think to try and keep from him. He snatched off the second soaked mitten, and took Max's frozen fingers in his mouth once again.

Thawing his other hand was agony all over again. Max kept his eyes open this time, but he knew he still had to look like a fool. He was panting, open-mouthed, unable to find the breath to say it burned when Kai's tongue arced up between his fingers and forced them to separate. How could Kai's body heat feel like sudden fire on his skin?

Again the heat and pain slowly faded into simple warmth. Kai's mouth finally released him. He dried Max's hand again and took out his other glove. Max curled his fingers before Kai could put the glove on him this time.

"What about you? Aren't your hands going to be cold?"

"You're the one who's already frozen."

"I was used to it a minute ago. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?" Kai repeated. Max leaned back, confused by Kai's anger. "Do you understand why you can't let your hands freeze?"

"If you don't want them to freeze, then do this."

Max stuck his hand in his coat pocket, taking Kai's still ever-so-warm hand with it. Kai stared at him, then readjusted his hand to warp more comfortably around Max's. The pocket was soft and dry, lined with fleece, and felt cozy with both of their hands in it together.

"Okay, now you put the other one on," Max insisted.

Kai at least went along with it, using his teeth to pull his other glove back on rather than freeing his hand. Max picked up his soaked mittens from where Kai had just dropped them in the snow with his free hand and tucked them in his other pocket. It wasn't until about then that it occurred to Max that they would have to continue their walk holding hands if Kai was really serious about keeping him warm.

"We're going back," Kai told him. No room for argument. He just turned Max around and started off, dragging him along as quickly as possible without yanking Max's hand out of his pocket.

"Shouldn't we follow our tracks?"

"No. We're going straight back."

That left Max to just hope that Kai had a good sense of direction, because he wasn't sure himself which way they were going right now. He couldn't even tell where the sun was through the snow-covered branches, and there were no landmarks other than the trail they had left.

For a little while Max was just concentrating on keeping up with Kai through the snow. The stillness under the pines was less awe-inspiring with Kai pulling on him, anyway. He did notice the way Kai's hand clenched around his, and the way Kai's lips were now pressed into a hard, thin line, but he wasn't sure if Kai was angry with him or upset about something else.

Kai kept giving him little sideways glances, which didn't embarrass Max into breaking off his staring as they might have normally. Kai was the one acting strangely right now, after all.

After the third or fourth time Kai glanced over so that their eyes met, his hand suddenly tightened on Max's as he looked away. The tense atmosphere had begun to feel unbearably heavy to Max by the time Kai finally spoke up.

"I've known a few bladers who had to quit because of frostbite."

There were too many questions that suddenly occurred to Max for him to voice just one. How many was 'a few?' Who were they to Kai? How had they ended up frostbitten so badly? What did that have to do with Max, anyway?

"We haven't been out long enough to get frostbite."

Kai just looked at him, and that look was enough to kill all the questions clamoring around Max's head.

"Right?" Max managed.

"You don't have to lose any fingers for it to affect you. Even if just your skin freezes your hands could be oversensitive for months." Kai's tone was as neutral as ever, but Max felt thoroughly chastised, just the same. "What would you do if you couldn't even handle a launcher normally for months because of the heat?"

"Oh."

Max had gotten used to the warmth his blade gave off every time he launched it. It was a lot more obvious after he had gained a bitbeast, but it was still hard to imagine that burning him. At the same time he had seen the. . . conditions that Kai had first trained under. Even a small, temporary injury would mean the end of one's beyblading career in a place like that.

"Kai," Max started, but let the other blader's name simply hang in the air without adding to it. He didn't know how to thank Kai for looking out for him.

As they reached the edge of the trees, Max suddenly found that the training center was less than ten yards straight in front of them. Kai had found a more direct path after all.

"So you really did know where you were going," Max exclaimed. He meant it as a compliment, but the look Kai gave him suggested that Kai hadn't quite taken it that way.

"Come on."

Kai's impatience didn't let up even after they reached the training center. He did release Max's hand once they got inside, yanking his own up and out of Max's pocket. He had unzipped his coat and shrugged it off almost before the front door swung shut behind them.

When Max started trying to take off his own coat, he found Kai dragging him inside by the arm. The sudden pull almost made him trip over his own feet. He had thought Kai would be done jerking him around once they made it back safely.

"Kai! What are- oof!" Max started to protest, but he was interrupted by running into Kai's back when the other boy stopped suddenly to yank open a door.

As soon as Max started to step back Kai was dragging him forward again, into the cramped half-bathroom that was right outside the front common room in the training center. He stopped facing the sink, shoulder-to-shoulder with Max in the narrow room.

"You could just say 'come with me.' You don't have to drag me around!" Max complained, and tried to pull his arm free just as Kai chose to let him go anyway.

"And you could have said earlier that your hands were hurting you."

Kai turned on the water and let it run over the inside of his bare arm. Max wasted a few seconds watching the serious expression on Kai's face as he tested the water on the inside of his elbow, then sighed and reached over to flick on the overhead light.

"Are you complaining about me not complaining?" Max wanted to know.

"Yes."

"You told Tyson to stop whining when he got snow down the back of his shirt yesterday."

"You can't compare that to this."

Kai stoppered the sink. He took both of Max's hands in his own and guided them under the running water.

The water running over his aching fingers felt boiling hot at first brush. Max tried to jerk away on the instinct that he was about to be burned, but even before he moved Kai's hands around his wrists had tightened into a stone grip that he couldn't seem to break.

"Ow!" Max protested. Kai was making hushing noises at his protests, which only irritated him. "No, you told me to complain and that hurts!"

"You have to keep your hands there until it doesn't hurt anymore."

As the sink started to fill Kai forced Max's hands down into the water. Suddenly it was heating every inch of thawing skin at once, prompting a pained gasp from Max.

"Why do you have to have it so hot? I'd almost rather you used your mouth again," Max whimpered. Even when he thought Kai was looking after him, why did he have to do it in a way that hurt?

"It's only lukewarm," Kai informed him. "It won't hurt in a minute."

"Are you kidding? You're some kind of sadist, aren't you?"

Kai didn't answer that last comment, but released Max's wrists and stepped away. He was out of the bathroom before Max could even ask what he was doing. Max wasn't sure if he had gone too far somehow, or if Kai was just fed up with arguing with him in general.

Either way, Kai was right. It didn't hurt after that first flash of surprise heat. The water didn't even feel as warm as Kai's breath had been. Of course it couldn't be anywhere near as powerful as the sudden agony of heat he'd felt with his fingers in Kai's mouth, but at least Kai hadn't been able to get both of his hands at once.

The blotchy flush coloring Max's skin became uniform as blood returned to his no-longer-numb hands. Cold and pain slowly faded until the water hardly felt warm. Finding that Kai was right didn't make Max feel any better. He clenched his fingers together in the water. He could pull out his hands any time he wanted, without Kai to make him stay.

"Okay, you were right. It doesn't really hurt now," Max begrudgingly admitted, though Kai wasn't there to hear. His hands tingled with pins and needles, and they ached in time to his pulse, but Max didn't voice any of that.

Then, when Max looked up, Kai was silently standing right there in the doorway. He was holding a steaming mug in one hand, which he set down on the counter with a loud 'thunk' before turning around and walking away again without a word of explanation.

"Wait a minute, Kai!"

Max didn't get an answer. The rich, unmistakable smell of hot chocolate was rising from the mug along with the steam. A handful of tiny marshmallows bobbed at the surface, and something about their presence was just out of place to Max.

"Max? Are you okay? You two were gone for over an hour."

Ray's calm, concerned voice broke through Max's confusion. In a moment the older boy was standing in the doorway right where Kai had been, though his expression was nowhere as inscrutable as Kai's.

"Sorry. I didn't realize we were gone so long."

Max shut off the water and drained the sink. He dried his hands absentmindedly. There were other things to think about.

"Did Kai just bring me hot chocolate?" Max asked, even though the evidence was sitting right in front of him.

"Yeah, I guess so. I was making some for everyone after you got back and that's the mug I gave him."

Kai was looking out for him. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, but it was one that Max had to stop and think about sometimes. Kai was often antisocial and aloof and irritable at anyone who he judged less capable than himself, but he was also really dependable. Maybe, Max was starting to think, he was the sort of person who didn't like seeing the people around him hurt. Kai was usually so ruthless in the midst of a beybattle, but the way he had sounded over the possibility of Max having frostbite. . . .

Max shook his head to clear it. He still didn't understand Kai, but it was enough to just get these little glimpses of what lay behind the antisocial wall that was Kai's attitude.

He picked up the hot chocolate, relieved that the mug just felt nice and warm against his palms, and turned to grin at Ray. "Please tell me the marshmallows were his idea."


	2. Chapter 2

I live! I said before I might be able to come back and finish this fic properly, and now I really am getting a chance to take a stab at it. It's going to be a long haul, so I hope everyone will enjoy reading this much as I'm enjoying writing it! (I hope to have chapter 3 posted by this time next week. I just need to tighten up some things first.) Many, many thanks to my dear friends RK and slr2moons for looking over this and helping me with some quick corrections!

A couple notes: I now know where this should fit in the timeline. This would be something of an AU after episode 27 of season 2 (V-force), so just imagine if the Bladebreakers took a month off after their fight at Battle Tower. There will eventually be some spoilers up to this point, but I think you can follow and enjoy this fic even if you've only watched to the end of season 1. I've increased the rating to "T" because there will be some violence in one of later chapters.

For those who are curious, the cake mentioned in this chapter is supposed to be medovnik, also called Russian Honey Cake.

* * *

Life at the BBA training center devolved into absolute chaos far too often for Kai's liking. It should have been good to get out of there and into town, but since his teammates, the source of his everyday chaos, were there with him he wasn't expecting much of a reprieve.

Focusing on training was often the only thing that kept frustration at bay. Kai needed to feel that he was actively accomplishing something. The time he spent just stuck in an enclosed space with his hyperactive teammates was wearing on his nerves. The fact that he found himself unable to sleep soundly more and more often of late only exacerbated the problem.

This morning he'd even been aware of his growing frustration while facing off against Max in a practice battle. It wasn't the fact that it took him a good ten minutes to get a decisive strike through those unusually conservative defenses that had set him on edge. It was Tyson cheering on the sidelines that was irritating. It was Ray's comments that going against Max was good practice, since he couldn't expect every opponent to lunge in and give him an easy attack angle. It was Kenny with his laptop trying to unscramble the finer points of Max's defensive technique.

More than anything, Kai was fairly sure it was Max's cheeky smile across the dish that got under his skin. He could still practically picture that competitive spark in Max's lively blue eyes, the one that didn't go out even when Kai had finally defeated him.

Right now Max was in the hobby shop with the others. Kai didn't have to look back to guess his teammates were all still carrying on the way he'd left them. Kenny was probably still flipping through the new fourth edition casual Beyblading guide, which Kai could already guess would be replacing the battered third edition he was lugging around now. Tyson and Ray would be engaged in the great debate of who was buying which new gaming magazines, though everyone ended up reading everything the others bought within the week. And surely Max would still be scouting out new parts with the excitable joy of a small child let loose in a candy shop, while somehow managing to pick out all the best pieces with an discerning eye.

His teammates' dedication was admirable, but sometimes Kai just wanted to take a step outside of that crazy circle and do something that had nothing to do with beyblading. That was how he'd ended up in a small touristy shop across the street from the rest of his team, not far enough that he wouldn't know if something came up but far enough to get a little quiet.

Kai ignored the racks of magnets and keychains, the varied selection of maps and winter gear and glossy magazines, to browse the narrow shelf of paperback bestsellers. He just wanted something that didn't have to do with beyblading for once, something to read when he needed an escape or found sleep impossible.

Normally he could at least go out for a little fresh air if he started to feel irritated, but even he didn't enjoy every kind of weather. Besides, there was no guarantee now that one or another of his teammates wouldn't decide to follow him. Max had done so just the other day.

Carelessly selecting something that looked like simple historical fiction, Kai turned briskly away from the shelves as if to put thoughts of his meddling teammates behind him. He found himself facing a huge rack of hats and gloves.

The sight of those gloves completely defeated his attempt to shove Max out of his mind. The shock of finding signs of the first stage of frostbite on Max's hands was still all too fresh. He would have gone out of his way to prevent injury to any of his team members, but that had shaken him more than he could have predicted. He had been keeping a close eye on his youngest teammate for any signs of lasting damage ever since, even if Max had called him a sadist for helping. By now Kai was used to being dismissed as cold and uncaring and it was no reason ignore his responsibility.

While he was thinking, Kai turned a pair of gloves over in his hands. They were waterproof, insulated, and exactly what Max needed if he insisted on flinging snowballs at Tyson or tagging along when Kai tried to go on a walk by himself. The pine green of the pair he was holding was almost a match for Draciel, close enough that it should suit Max.

Without thinking too deeply about the gesture, Kai bought the gloves along with his randomly selected book. It was such a simple way to prevent injury to Max's hands. This would leave him with one less weight on his mind.

When he rejoined his teammates he found them mostly arranged as he had expected they would be. He hadn't expected Max to practically pounce on him the moment he opened the door, though.

"There you are! Tell him these would be the perfect parts to tweak Dranzer."

'Him' was Kenny, who was half a step behind Max and protesting all the way.

"I'm telling you, they're too heavy for Dranzer!"

"You have to start with pieces that are too big if you want to modify them! You can always cut down material, but if you want to make a small ring bigger it just doesn't work."

"What about the upgrade I was working on?"

"But what about if his blade needs repairing again before you finish?"

Kai would have liked to have nothing to do with the argument, but he didn't have an escape route unless he wanted to turn around and walk right back out the door.

"Show me the parts," Kai muttered, wanting to put an end to the entire thing.

Kenny was right that they were too bulky, but Max was also right that, if reduced just a little, they would actually work perfectly to replace the outer rings on his blade, which were already showing signs of wear.

"If you want to spend your time modifying these, that's your right."

"Really?" Max actually sounded excited by the prospect. Kai decided to leave him to it.

It didn't take long after that for them to finish up their errands. All of the latest beyblading magazines were eventually divided up among the five of them. Kenny sulked over having his expertise shot down until Max pointed out to him that the parts were just so that he could concentrate on the next upgrade without worrying too much about temporary repairs.

When they piled into the BBA van once again Kai hung back by a few steps to watch his teammates. Their real reason for coming into town wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to, but he was apparently the only one with misgivings. After finally dealing with team Psykick he had thought that at least they wouldn't have to field any more official challenges from rival teams. Instead word had apparently gotten out that the world champions were defending their title.

"What I want to know is how come it took this long for us to get an official challenge? I would've thought everyone wanted a piece of us," Tyson was saying, in counterpoint to Kai's thoughts.

"Actually, the Lightening Fangs are just the first team to get through the whole gauntlet Mr. Dickenson set up after team Psykick's first challenge. There were so many teams that jumped at the chance he needed a better way to weed them out. Besides, setting up a longer process gives us time to run some quick background checks on teams, and more importantly their backers." As usually Kenny had all of the information, and was all too glad to share.

"I can't blame him. I'd rather avoid another trap like getting stuck on that island before," Ray commented, getting straight to the heart of what Mr. Dickenson was probably worried about.

Max jumped up in the seat behind Kai, putting his elbows right on the back of Kai's seat and his hands on the headrest, irritatingly close to Kai's head. He obviously took a less conservative view of the subject. "If these guys had to go through so much trouble to meet us, we have to give them a really good match!"

"Max, you're not even scheduled to go up tomorrow," Kenny pointed out. Kai might have been the only one who heard him as Tyson's enthusiasm drowned him out.

"That's right! We'll give them a match they'll never forget! And leave them totally in awe of the world champs, right?"

"I know I don't get to do anything," came Max's voice from right above his head, sounding more than a little put out. Kai was definitely the only one to hear that. "Anyway, what's their team captain like?" Max asked, raising his voice again so that the others could hear. "He challenged Kai personally, right?"

"Well, the first thing is their captain is a girl," Kenny started to explain, typing away. "And from what I've seen of her records from the BBA, she favors a real all-or-nothing attack type. Her blade is built for power, so with her going up against Kai it could get pretty intense."

"Is she cute?" Max wanted to know. "Maybe she has a thing for Kai."

Kai refrained from commenting. Why should he care about the motivations of someone from a rival team?

"Actually, she seems to have a habit of always challenging the opposing team's captain. Judging by the matches this team has taken part in, anyway."

Kenny kept pulling up stats on the opponents they were set to face in the morning, trying to get them up-to-date on who and what they would be up against. The match-ups were already set, since this was mostly an exhibition match. It was almost a preliminary show to commemorate the refurbished beyblade stadium, after the structural damage they had inflicted during the last world championship. And what better way to celebrate than inviting back the Blade Breakers to defend their title?

Kai was only paying attention to the style and power readings of his chosen opponent, hardly sparing a glance for her face. He wasn't worried about the upcoming match. After all the unexpected dangers they had already been through, he wasn't expecting to face anything in the upcoming match that could possibly rattle him.

* * *

This would be their first real, honest match against a non-crazy team since they had gotten back together, and Max found himself stuck warming the bench. He couldn't help being disappointed. It was an exhibition match, so why couldn't he play too? Why were they stuck with the old tournament rules of three-on-three? He had really wanted to play against a new opponent. It would be the first outside his team since they'd taken down team Psykick's battle tower.

He wasn't going to let it get him down. Max had decided that as soon as he had urged Kai to go ahead and accept the personal challenge from the opposing team's captain. It wasn't all bad. It would be a series of exhibitions, and it would end with getting to see all of his teammates in their element! Max couldn't let himself mope with something like that to look forward to.

Instead of trying to decide who would take on which person on the opposite team, they ended up spending dinner in an argument over sharing rooms. It had been a long time since they had something other than the very simple arrangements of all of them spread out on the floor in Tyson's family's dojo, or everyone having their own room at the remote training center that had way too much space for just the five of them.

When they managed to get a hold of a roll-away bed it was immediately decided that it went to Tyson. Max was a little jealous. That meant he didn't have to share, right? While the rest of them were stuck in a debate that shouldn't have been all that hard.

"Last time we just divided it up me 'n' Ray, and then Kai with the Chief. What's wrong with that again?" Max suggested.

He could not understand why Kai and Ray were making such a big deal about this, or why Tyson was so annoyed when he got a bed to himself. Then again, he had cake in front of him right at that moment, so all was obviously right with the world. It wasn't like anything he'd had before, all soft, spongy honey-cake and sweet cream with so many tiny layers that it looked like tree rings inside.

"Actually, Max, you keep talking in your sleep and you were kinda loud last time," Ray told him.

"There's a lot more talking when Kenny stays up with his computer all night," Kai countered.

"S-sorry." Kenny looked about ready to sink into the floor with embarrassment. "I can promise I won't be up looking for more information this time. . ."

"Oh?" Max kept nibbling happily at another spoonful of his cake. "Then I can sleep-talk to the Chief while he's up all night and Kai and Ray can-"

"No," Kai and Ray answered in unison. They gave each other a look across the table that was a combination of mutual understanding and mistrust.

"Hm?" was Max's little noise of confusion, but his mouth was full and neither of them were really paying attention to him at the moment. He knew Ray had a habit of stealing the blankets when he was cold, but what would Kai do that made Ray not want to share with him? Did he snore? Max had never heard him, but he was a pretty heavy sleeper sometimes.

"I'll take Max," Kai finally offered, "If you take Tyson's roll-away in your room."

"Are you sure? The Chief can keep from being up all night, but Max can't help if he talks in his sleep."

"I'll handle him."

Max was busy watching the exchange like a tennis match across the table, as the two eldest teammates made the trade. The idea of being annoyed with them was on the edge of his mind, but he didn't bother to entertain it. Kai had just helped him procure utterly delicious cake. How could Max possibly be mad at him?

Tyson had the great idea of bugging Kai about what food was good to try, because he would have to know, wouldn't he? Kai had simply glanced at the menu and said it was all good, which was unhelpful even if it was true. He wouldn't even answer what was his favorite when Max asked.

Of course they had to pester Kai until he told them what was what, since the information on the English menu was pretty scanty. Tyson was happy enough when he found ice cream for dessert, though Max thought it was way too cold for that. Max had meant to go through the whole dessert list asking what each thing was and how to say it, but Kai had finally looked at him and just given him one word, which Max took as his recommendation.

He really wished he could remember what it was now, because it was obviously a secret code word for, 'bring me a pure honeyed heaven on a plate.'

"Is it really that good?" Tyson asked him incredulously across the table.

"Hm?" Max's mouth was once again too full of cake (and spoon) to answer properly.

"You look like you're in love with your food," Tyson laughed.

"Mm!"

"Can I try?"

"Mm. . ." Max didn't quite want to share. Tyson might be his best friend, but he had his own dessert right in front of him.

"Max, are you going to be able to sleep after eating all that sugar?" Kenny asked him, ever keeping the line between conscientious and prepared and simple worrying.

Tyson had been rubbing his head after a brain freeze, probably why he'd wanted to try something else, but he actually laughed at that. "I didn't think of that! I'd feel sorry for Kai if he didn't just bring this on himself."

Before Max had time to so much as shoot a guilty glance at Kai he heard his team captain calmly declare, "It won't be a problem."

Max did glance over at Kai then, trying not to laugh at the completely impassive look on his face. He was just sipping his tea, not even bothering to keep his eyes open, let alone keep up with the conversation when Kenny started bringing up how early they'd have to get up and what events were scheduled before they could even get to their own match.

"Do you want a bite?" Max offered at Kai.

Kai actually opened his eyes to meet Max's gaze, and that was a victory in itself.

"I thought you liked it."

"I do! But if you wanted some. . . I'll give you a bite if you'll tell me what it's called again. I forgot already."

Kai looked from Max's face to the cake. After a moment of thought he did pick up the spoon laying beside his tea, and helped himself to a bite of the cake Max was holding out at him.

"I'll write it down for you," Kai offered.

None of the others were even paying attention, so they didn't get to share the new knowledge that Kai could be bribed with food! Maybe. Or maybe the cake was just that good, Max thought. And while Max was trying to figure out Kai, there was another little mystery he'd like to know the answer to.

"What did you mean when you said I wouldn't be a problem?" Max asked, curiously.

"You seem to be a lot calmer after someone gives you a lot of sugar. I wasn't expecting a problem," Kai told him. His low voice warned Max off of considering becoming a problem, either.

"Oh." Max had never realized that, but he was more disappointed than interested. He'd been hoping Kai just didn't mind being with him.

* * *

A garbled cry startled Max awake without warning. It took him a minute to orient himself, remember that he was in a hotel because the team had a match tomorrow, and realize that the harsh breathing he could hear at his side must be coming from Kai.

When Max rolled onto his back he could see Kai's silhouette in the dark, sitting bolt upright in bed beside him. He fumbled for the light on his side of the bed so he could see his roommate properly.

Kai threw up one arm to shield his eyes the second the light went on, so Max couldn't see much of his face. He could just see that Kai's jaw was clenched, making the muscles in his neck stand out. His hair and shirt were damp with sweat.

"Kai? Are you okay?" Max tried to rub some of the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up. "Did you yell?"

"Probably."

Kai ran both hands over his face, still shielding himself from the light. Max watched the muscles in his neck slowly relax, unable to see his expression.

"Sorry for waking you. You can go back to sleep."

"Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Kai didn't answer, and Max unthinkingly lay a hand on his arm in concern. Even though they weren't standing out anymore Kai's muscles were still so tense Max could feel faint tremors under his fingers.

"Was it a bad dream?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Kai shrugged off his hand and lay down. He turned his back towards Max with a stiff, deliberate motion.

"You don't have to." Max clasped his hands together in his lap. He didn't think trying to rub Kai's back or comfort him with a touch would do anything but annoy him. "Everyone gets nightmares sometimes, you know. I just want to help."

Kai grumbled in his throat, grabbed at the clock on his side of the bed and turned it towards himself.

"We have to be up in four hours, Max. You should turn off the light and go back to sleep."

"If you go right back to sleep you'll probably just have the same dream again."

Kai was silent. Max crossed his legs to sit more comfortably, trying to wait out his team captain's stubborn streak.

"Come on, Kai. I'm already awake, so talk to me for a minute and get it out of your head."

"I told you I don't want to talk about it."

"We'll talk about something else."

Max really did want to know what was up. Either something had scared Kai really badly, or it had been one of those nightmares that seemed really stupid afterward and he was embarrassed, and Max would probably never get to find out which. He made a supreme effort to hold back the curiosity gnawing at him. Kai was always looking out for them. This was the very least he could try to do in return.

"You know, one time I watched a bunch of horror movies and had nightmares about clowns. I'm not even scared of clowns. And besides clowns in horror movies aren't scary because they're _clowns_, they're scary because they have pointy teeth and then they eat you."

"Max, drop it."

"Okay, something else then." Max tried to bully his half-awake brain into finding something interesting. "Your match tomorrow-"

"Is now today, and I think you'd better get some sleep before it."

Max tsked, watching Kai's back. He didn't even need to touch Kai to tell the tension hadn't left him. Though it was possible he was just tense because he was annoyed now.

"Then can you tell me something? How come you never share a room with Ray anymore if the rest of us are so noisy?"

"Because last time he got on my side and tried to curl up on top of me," Kai answered wearily.

Max could understand that being a deal breaker. Kai liked his personal space. "He's never done that to me. He just steals all my blankets."

"I know. If he did it every time we'd have to make him share with Tyson."

Max snickered at that. Tyson was by far the most fun to stay awake and talk with, but he also kicked.

"Now turn out the light and go to sleep or I'll throw you out in the hall."

Max did as his team captain demanded, not doubting Kai would make good on his threat if he got mad enough. He lay down and pulled the covers up to his chin, straining his eyes in a vain attempt to see Kai in the dark.

"Do you feel better?"

Kai didn't answer. Either he didn't, or he was gearing up to kick Max out of bed for pestering him. Or both. Probably both.

"Hey Kai? Why do you think we count sheep?"

A pause, and then, "What are you talking about now?"

"You know how to get to sleep you're supposed to count sheep jumping over a fence or something. Why is it sheep?"

Kai sighed in exasperation, but he still answered, "What else would you count?"

"Horses. Horses jump over fences, right?"

"Then count horses."

"What do you think it should be?" Max asked.

Kai was silent until Max didn't think he was going to get an answer, so that he was startled to hear Kai's voice again.

"Cats. Because they sleep a lot."

"So. . . you can imagine lining up a whole bunch of cats on the fence and watch them go to sleep one by one?"

"I don't think counting sheep really works."

"Then how are you gonna get back to sleep?"

"I'll manage." There was a annoyed hint to Kai's voice, so that he didn't even need to say, 'once you stop bothering me.'

"But maybe you can have a better dream now, right?" Max asked softly. He considered putting one hand out to feel if Kai was still all tense, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Kai would probably tense up as soon as he was touched, anyway.

"Goodnight, Kai."

"Goodnight."

Max finally made himself comfortable on his own side of the bed. He had really wanted to be able to do something for Kai for once, but it seemed like he had just annoyed him. Not that annoying Kai without meaning to was anything new, but he wanted so much to be able to support Kai if he ever needed it.

"Thanks," Kai murmured after a moment, his voice so low that Max nearly lost it in the silence.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is here! I want to say thank you so much to my friends RK and slr2moons, who somehow found the time to help me with a quick beta. Thank you so much! I don't want to think what a mess this would be without you guys. And also thank you to everyone who has been reading, and especially those who were kind enough to review!

The Lightning Fangs are my own OCs, but please don't worry about them taking over the fic. This is still for Max and Kai!

I really hope you will continue to enjoy this fic. I will do my best to have chapter 4 up for everyone to enjoy in good time.

* * *

Morning found Kai feeling far more rested and refreshed than he could have ever expected. He already knew not to go bck to sleep with that dream on the forefront of his mind, and experience told him not to expect any more sleep in the short amount of night he'd had left. He had only wanted Max to sleep so he could sit up and think without his teammate being aware of it. Instead, Max's chattering had somehow helped to clear his head in a few minutes when it normally took him hours to sort himself out.

After waking up more clear-headed than he'd felt in a week, Kai actually found himself glad to be sharing a room with someone for once. Max had even stayed on his own side of the bed. He was still asleep when Kai looked over at him, curled up with his knees to his chest and one hand fisted in his pillow. Max appeared so innocent in his sleep, it almost made Kai forget how easily his energetic teammate got into trouble.

Kai shook himself out of his thoughts. If he was wasting time just watching Max's sleeping face he must not be as awake as he felt. He had decided a long time ago that the best way to avoid the awkwardness of being forced to share a bed with one of the others was to rise early and clear out, leaving them to wake up on their own.

With this in mind Kai took a quick shower, to wake himself up the rest of the way more than anything. He dressed before applying his face paint with the efficiency of long practice. He had picked up that ritual again once he got back into beyblading, and once again he could do it without even needing to see himself in the fogged mirror.

He expected Max to still be asleep, but when he slipped out of the bathroom he found Max in the middle of a wake-up stretch. His bare legs were swung over the edge of the bed and the movement pulled up the T-shirt he was sleeping in to expose a flash of his stomach. Kai quickly flicked his eyes away from the sight, though in the back of his mind he was noting that their physical training regimen was having a positive effect. It might even be time to make Max's training a little more intense.

"Mm. . ." Max folded his hands behind his head, still looking half-asleep. "Mornin' Kai," he managed around another yawn. "Wha's up?"

"Bathroom's free. I'll see you at breakfast if you get ready in time."

"Did you get a good sleep?" Max asked. "No more bad dreams?"

That made Kai pause. Of course Max remembered last night. He had been awake enough to try and make conversation. Of course he had been awake enough to remember.

"I'm fine."

"Tha's good." Max yawned again, before pushing himself up out of bed. "Why'd they make this start so early. . . ?"

Even if he remembered, it was a fluke so far as Max knew. There was no reason Max would even think about it any further, not with so much to distract him. Though he had been momentarily glad for Max's company, Kai decided he would be even more glad to have privacy again. He wouldn't give Max any reason to think about him, and everything would be forgotten soon enough. That, Kai reasoned, was best for both of them.

* * *

Buoyed by the excitement of their upcoming match, Max woke up quickly. He had forgotten how exhilarating it was to be playing in a proper stadium, surrounded by the crowd. The stadium still showed a few signs that it had been under repair after the damage sustained in that final round of the world championship, but it was finally ready to host beyblade matches again. Max still didn't know exactly what had happened, but he remembered the clash between Tyson and Tala had made the whole building shake.

Max was actually disappointed that today's show was only a few exhibition matches to christen the newly repaired stadium. He would have loved to spend all day on preliminary rounds as they had before, seeing all kinds of different styles and taking them on one by one. By the time they were ready to start he was practically vibrating with energy, wishing he could take part. Someone had to sit out, obviously, but Max didn't want to be that someone.

When they finally stepped out onto the main floor of the stadium the Lightning Fangs were already there waiting for them. Max nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get a better look at the other team. All four wore a patch on one arm with a small picture of what looked like a lizard or snake head spitting a lightning bolt. Other than that none of them looked anything alike.

Max immediately recognized Lexi, their team captain. Her short hair was almost silvery in the back with longer deep blue bangs framing her proud face, so that she looked almost like a reflection of Kai. Max had only seen a poor photograph of her before, and wanted to know if she would share Kai's uncanny crimson eyes as well. Now that he finally got a good look at her he found they were an unremarkable blue, like his own. When she stepped forward and shook hands with Kai, formally agreeing to a friendly match, Max realized they were even a match in height. He couldn't be sure if the similarity extended to temperament as well. Neither captain seemed to give a single hint of what they were thinking.

Looking down the line from Lexi, Max recognized two of the others from the chief's briefing the day before. Kent was a huge, broad-shouldered boy who looked like he hadn't slept in a month. At least, that was what Max thought before realizing the black marks under his eyes were only painted on. Elane, the other girl on the team, seemed tiny standing between her much taller teammates. She had her long hair up in twin ponytails and a fierce, pointed little face that reminded Max of a fox.

Standing a little behind the others was a tall boy who Max could only guess was the team's alternate. No one had even mentioned the other teen's name to him. Before Max had a chance to get more than a glance at him it was time for them to step back to opposite sides of the stadium, ready to cheer on the others.

Ray was up first. He face off against Kent in a specialty dish with a miniature version of the stadium itself, complete with the surrounding grounds. Kent's beyblade was obviously a powerful bulldozer if given the chance, and just looking at it Max could guess it was within milligrams of the weight limit, but Driger's speed meant such a bulky opponent couldn't manage to land a single blow.

Even with the advantage in speed and maneuverability, Ray didn't let up on his opponent for a minute. With Driger Ray could, and did, turn and loop around a slower blade with ease. He moved seamlessly from evasion to attack in an eyeblink, unbalancing the other beyblade with a series of quick attacks. By the second round Driger was literally spinning circles around Kent's beyblade, whipping up a vortex of air pressure that sent his opponent flying.

The first set was over before the announcer had a chance to get revved up. It was probably poor form to whoop and jump on Ray to congratulate him, but Max didn't think of that until after he'd already done it.

Even though the events today were meant to celebrate fixing up the stadium, it became apparent after Ray's match that some repairs hadn't been completed yet. There had to be a break while the switch to a new dish was made manually, which was a minor hassle. More telling was the fact that both teams were shunted into the same resting room while the change was made.

They immediately gravitated to opposite sides of the room, sizing each other up once again. Ray was the first to break out of the group by going to offer a more friendly introduction to his opponent. Tyson, always good at making new friends, was right behind him.

Max was a step behind Tyson and about to join in when he realized he was being watched. Looking around, Max found he was being scrutinized by the Lightning Fang's last member, the one he'd only gotten a quick glimpse of before the first bout.

He was easily taller than anyone else on his team, even slouching against the wall. Everything about his appearance was casual, dressed in jeans and a battered leather jacket, and with his short black hair sticking out in all directions. Now that Max finally got a good look at him it was impossible to miss that he was sporting rings in his eyebrow and lip, and several in one ear.

Max gave him a friendly smile almost on instinct, and got a grin flashed at him in return. This guy had to be the one stuck in the same position as Max was, having to sit out as the fourth member on his team. Max was suddenly incredibly curious to see what kind of blading style he would have, and took a step away from the cheerful knot the others had made, intending to strike up a conversation.

When he glanced past the tall boy he noticed Lexi was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Her eyes focused unwaveringly on Kai even though he was ignoring her. It wasn't anything personal, since Kai was ignoring everything, but it still made Max want to laugh.

She noticed Max looking at her and turned on him with narrowed eyes, making Max suddenly want to slink away. He didn't get a chance to introduce himself to the other boy after all.

The second bout pitted Tyson against Elane in a dish that had been iced over beforehand, producing a slick surface with almost no traction. In spite of their warnings, Max could tell Tyson wasn't taking the match seriously. He got knocked straight out of the dish within seconds in the first round.

A delightfully mischievous smile made it clear Elane was not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately for her, Tyson got the message and put his full power into play to make up for his stinging pride. He hurriedly brought out Dragoon to blow away Elane's blade in the second round.

By their third and final round it had suddenly become an intense battle of bitbeast against bitbeast. Elane's stingray-like bitbeast went about cracking and melting the thin film of ice on the dish with small bolts of electricity. Tyson was hard-pressed just to keep Dragoon spinning in the dangerous terrain. At length he managed to force Elane's beyblade into one of the damaged areas, toppling her and pulling off a victory.

During their second break, as the stadium was reset for the last match, Elane easily struck up a friendly conversation with Tyson and Ray, while Kent lurked behind her like a bodyguard. Not that it made much difference. Tyson didn't even seem to notice if the guy was trying to be intimidating.

The other two were less sociable. Their alternate was still looking at him, and Max was starting to feel self-conscious. It wasn't like they would get to do anything today, so why was he getting so much attention? Though he was trying not to stare at the other teen in return, Max heard him make a comment to Lexi that he'd heard Max went and joined some rival team in America, but obviously they went out of their way to get him back.

"He's not important. He's just an alternate. You should remember last year he didn't even participate in that final match in the world championship," Lexi answered.

Max could feel his ears burning. He tried to turn to Kai and start a conversation to distract himself, but Kai looked like he was napping, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

"A lot of really high-profile teams like that can only afford to keep three good players, but that's all they need anyway," Lexi continued.

"Hey!" came an angry shout from Tyson. "You take that back!" Max hadn't even thought he was paying attention, but he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to anyone insulting a friend.

At almost the same time Elane cried, "Lex, what did you say?" at her captain, sounding scandalized.

Max had to help Ray physically hold Tyson back to keep his friend from trying to defend him by getting into a fight with the opposing team's captain. Distracted by Tyson's anger and his own embarrassment, he didn't notice Kai's eyes had snapped open until he moved, stepping forward to confront his now stony-faced opponent. Her narrowed eyes just seemed to be daring him to hit her, as Tyson was flailing around trying to do.

"You aren't anywhere near a high enough level to take Max."

Max relaxed his grip, too startled to think of holding Tyson back when even Kai was defending him. Luckily, Tyson was also too shocked at seeing Kai actually stepping in to take advantage of his distraction.

"And what makes you say that?"

Kai's lips twisted up, but his expression wasn't anything like a smile as Max knew it. Lexi had a serious backbone not to back down from just that look. It was sending chills down Max's spine, and Kai wasn't even looking at him.

"I'll make you a deal. Let's make this a best of five. If you can beat Max, you'll be back in the running."

"Can we even do that?" Tyson wanted to know.

"He is team captain," Ray answered philosophically.

"You're not just trying to weasel out of facing me?"

"If you somehow manage to win, I'll be glad to beat you down myself."

There was no time for further bartering. They were being called into the arena even as the two captains shook on it, this time looking as if they would like to break each other's hands.

Max's throat was too tight to say anything to Kai. Either, 'thank you,' or 'what are you thinking!?'

When he went to stumble back into the arena, Kai stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder and a low voice in his ear. "Don't prove me wrong," Kai told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

The arena had been switched to a standard dish for the final round, so there wasn't even the stress of an unexpected terrain for Max to contend with. There should have been no pressure at all with his team already up by two wins, but Max's stomach was in knots when he stepped up. Kai had placed trust in him to win. Suddenly this match was painfully important.

Max didn't handle the pressure as well as he could have, or should have. He rushed into the first round, trying to strike first and make Kai proud. Instead he ended up getting Draciel ricocheted back to him in a defeat far more sudden and embarrassing than Tyson's.

With his heart apparently trying to hammer its way up into his throat, Max found himself unable to even take a deep breath and attempt to calm himself. He was almost too tense to load Draciel back onto his launcher for a second try. The world seemed to close in on him as a tinny ringing in his ears threatened to deafen him. Only one voice could reach him.

"Stop messing around. You're better than that. Calm down and fight, Max."

Max looked back at Kai. His team captain's face was impassive as ever, yet the look Kai fixed him with was intense enough to make his heart settle down to where it was supposed to be. He could still practically feel Kai's hand on his shoulder, lending him strength.

He could see Tyson and Ray and Kenny all cheering him on, and somehow that helped the sound of the crowd finally filter back through. He couldn't let his head fog up in panic, no matter if his opponent thought he was useless and even Kai had been moved to defend him. The stubborn determination that had gotten Max into and out of worse situations than this finally took over. He wouldn't go down that easily.

Determined, Max launched Draciel a second time.

With his head cleared by Kai's brisk words and the reminder that his best friends were still on his side, Max was able to focus on playing Draciel's strengths. This time he stood his ground and kept to defending. He guided Draciel into absorbing and deflecting attacks, slowly frustrating his opponent and wearing her momentum down.

Just when he judged Lexi was angry enough to get reckless he switched tactics. A sudden attack after his long defensive stint startled her and let him snatch a win in the second round.

When they faced off for the third, final time Max had completely regained the excited energy that had been flowing through him all morning. He grinned across at Lexi, and she gave him a hint of a predatory smile back. Max was sure both of them knew this would not be an easy win, but someone was going to have to go down.

Lexi took a more cautious tack this time, looking for an opening that Max wasn't about to give her as both of them kept their guard up. When their eyes met across the dish, the look on her face was enough to sweep away any grudge Max might have considered harboring. All he could see now was the strength of a serious blader settling into a match. There was a new respect in her expression, as if to say she wouldn't be so sloppy as to underestimate him again.

Their blades circled, clashing violently from every possible angle. The sound drowned out the announcer, at least in Max's ears. Lexi didn't seem to believe in dodging, moving just enough to deflect each of Max's attacks. Draciel stood firm enough to absorb each of her return strikes without losing speed.

She was testing him, twisting to attack at different angles in an effort to overbalance him. Max could see that almost without having to think about it. She was expecting him to absorb each attack because he could, with Draciel's rotational speed and magnetic core deflecting the hits well enough to avoid damage.

As competition sharpened his focus to a fine point and the blinding rotation of his beyblade gave a spark of life to the small talisman set in it, Max once again became aware of Draciel on a solid, physical level. The bitbeast hadn't even manifested yet, but to Max Draciel was already an extension of his own body.

Almost before Max had formed a plan in his head Draciel was moving into place for him. Max feinted back along the curve of the dish with the next few strikes, letting Lexi's blade arc around and come in high behind him.

At the same time that Max let Draciel appear he saw an answering glow rise from Lexi's blade. She was done trying to soften him up, and now she rushed in for a finishing blow. Her bitbeast was a flat lizard with a serpentine neck, which stretched out hungrily to get a bite of Draciel.

Max hardly had time for a cry of, "Now, Draciel!"

Draciel responded as fast as a thought, rearing up with a bellow that vibrated through Max's whole body and allowing Max's beyblade to slip cleanly out of the way. In perfect unison Draciel looped around to strike Lexi's beyblade from behind as the immense turtle came down on her smaller bitbeast in an unmerciful blow.

The combined strike sent Lexi's blade fatally out of its spin. Almost in slow motion it was driven before Draciel's solid form until it flipped up against the opposite side of the dish and crashed down again in defeat.

Max was exhilarated, out of breath even though he'd hardly needed to shout commands to guide Draciel. He could hardly believe it was over even when he fetched the still-spinning Draciel out of the dish. The dispirited look on Lexi's face told him she couldn't believe it either.

"That was a great match!" Max enthused. He was too energized to think about any past insult now. "It was really close. You almost had me there for a minute!"

Max stuck out his hand, smiling openly. Remembering his first match again Kai, he almost expected to be snubbed, but in a second there was the firm grip of Lexi's hand on his. She was actually smiling back, albeit rather sheepishly.

"Not even. I really underestimated you," Lexi argued. "And I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Kit," she jerked her head at the tall boy with the piercings, "had to remind me that you were injured and couldn't have been in that match even if you wanted to."

"Ah," Max said, not knowing how to explain. He'd known that rumor was going around, but it wasn't so much that he'd been physically injured before the championship. Rather that after having Draciel stolen he'd had to bow out and let his teammates take the fight.

"If you get a chance, you might like to talk to him. He's a huge fan of yours. I mean, he _will not shut up _about you. And he's already really upset I got to face you and he didn't."

"Really?"

Max looked over at Kit again in disbelief. He had fans? He knew the team had fans, and Kai and Tyson and Ray each had some fans that were just really into them, but it hadn't quite occurred to Max that he might have the same. Especially not someone like this. Kit was a head taller than him and had to be a couple of years older as well.

Even when their two teams mingled to share congratulations and Kit finally stopped lurking in the back and made a beeline for him, Max still couldn't quite get his head around it. If he'd tried to imagine a fan of his it'd probably be some excitable kid from his home town asking for an autograph, not a self-assured teen. Max knew he was good, but he had always had the least flashy style on his team and he was sure there was no way he would stand out among the other three.

"Hey," Max managed.

"Hey." Kit took a minute to shake Max's hand. Everything from the slow drawl of his voice to the warm look in his eyes was completely mellow and laid back, which put Max a little more at ease even if it didn't lessen his confusion.

"Sorry about Lexi." He glanced back at his team captain to be sure she was off trading congratulations with the rest of the team before continuing. "It's kinda my fault. I haven't stopped complaining since the match lineup came out and you weren't on it, so I guess she was pretty sick of hearing your name every ten minutes. Sometimes she's just like that. I know if anyone'd said that kind of thing about me she'd kick the tar out of them."

"It's okay," Max assured him. Now that they'd resolved their differences in the dish he could just laugh it off. "She already apologized. I think Tyson got a lot more mad about it than I did."

"I'm glad you can be so cool about it. You looked like you were really flustered at the beginning."

Max was feeling pretty flustered right now, too. He had always thought getting to meet fans was so much fun, but Kit's unwavering focus was making him uncomfortable. He looked around, hoping for guidance (surely Tyson knew how to handle this), but everyone else was busy.

"Relax," Kit told him, making him flush guiltily. "I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable or anything. I just wanted to ask," he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, tilting his head to the side sheepishly. "Could we have a match some time?"

"Sure!" Max laughed. At least that was familiar territory. He was happy to agree to it.

Kit gripped Max's hand to shake on the agreement, beaming at him. A second later he looked over Max's shoulder and his face grew more serious. He lowered his voice conspiratorially.

"Your team captain looks really pissed off. Should I be worried?"

Max looked back at Kai in surprise and found him glaring at Kit. Maybe he was mad because their chat was holding things up, but it wasn't as if they were the only ones. Everyone but Kai seemed to be happily making friends. Lexi was even heaping enthusiastic praise on the Chief for some of the statistics he had collected during the match, or something like that. Whatever it was he was blushing and looking bashfully proud of himself.

"Nah, he's just like that sometimes," Max said, unconsciously mirroring the same explanation Kit had given for his own team captain.

Their good time didn't break up until the BBA van was ready to leave. At that point, Max was happy to say goodbye, feeling like he'd gained some new friends. This was what competing used to be like, and he had almost forgotten how much fun it was.

As they clambered into the van Max managed to slip into a seat next to Kai. He watched Kai's tensely straight back for a minute, but Kai seemed determined to ignore him in favor of scenery. Max leaned a little closer to whisper to him alone.

"Thanks for back there, Kai."

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me, and encouraging me. I'm sorry you had to give up your spot. You were looking forward to having a new opponent, right?"

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

That had to top the charts as the best thing Max had heard all day. He knew he was already grinning like a loon.

"How about a match as soon as we get back?"

Kai actually shifted enough to glance back at him out of the corner of his eye. Max was practically squirming in his seat with excitement.

"Sure."

"We could have a free-for-all!" Max suggested excitedly. A four-on-four free-for-all was the kind of crazy thing you would never see in an official match, but Max found that kind of challenge fun.

"Yes! We could set up our own tournament!" Tyson joined in.

In a second Max was chatting excitedly over the back of his seat with Tyson, who was just as energized by their match as he was. Even though Kai was ignoring the conversation once again, Max still got the feeling Kai might actually join in whatever crazy game they decided on in the end. Even if he was wrong, today he was just happy to have Kai on his side.


	4. Chapter 4

Another week, another chapter. I don't have much to say about this one except to please enjoy how the plot is slowly stewing... Thank you to everyone still reading and enjoying this fic! Even after I tossed OCs at you. (I know there are still a couple unanswered questions. The Lightning Fangs will appear again later to appease your curiosity.)

A thousand thank-you's to RK for letting me bounce ideas off of her until I got these scenes worked out, and a thousand more to slr2moons for being the best beta ever and helping me polish them up! I don't know where I'd be without you guys. Thank you everyone, and please enjoy the fic!

* * *

Max couldn't quite believe how quickly they all settled back into their routine after their match with the Lightning Fangs. In the back of his head he had expected something to change, for them to be whisked off to a new location at the very least. Max kept feeling like there was something he needed to do, but he put his restlessness down to simple boredom.

If the others were bothered by cabin fever it didn't show. Kai and Ray were at opposite ends of the couch, both reading quietly. Kenny was in the other room monopolizing the phone, otherwise he probably would have told Tyson and Max to move what they were doing into the training area. Tyson had wanted to work on his new addition to their obstacle course during their after-lunch break, and Max had belatedly realized they were generating a lot of sawdust.

Tyson had turned on the television set high in one corner of the room for background noise, but it still felt stiflingly quiet. Max kept glancing up at whatever was playing as he held the board Tyson was working on in place. It was some kind of nature show, so he could follow it well enough even without understanding a word from the narrator.

"What's he saying, anyway?" Max asked the room at large.

He didn't really expect an answer, but Ray was paying enough attention to be helpful. Or at least enough to glance up and comment, "Probably just something about the wolves going for the deer's vulnerable spots."

For some reason the way he phrased it was incredibly funny to Max. He couldn't help giggling to himself as Tyson inspected his half-mutilated board.

"Hey Tyson, I'm gonna get your vulnerable spots!" Max lunged forward and tickled Tyson's ribs.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Tyson lost no time in retaliating, tickling Max back even as he instinctively jerked away from Max's hand.

Max jumped to his feet, trying to escape Tyson's revenge, only to trip over some of Tyson's scattered tools and stumble sideways into the couch. Or more accurately, directly into Ray's lap.

"Um. . . hi?" Max craned his neck backwards to give Ray what he hoped looked like an innocent smile. Ray simply pulled him up into a less awkward position. By now he was too used to their roughhousing to even comment.

That was when Tyson decided to go after his defenseless feet. Max kicked and laughed helplessly, trying to squirm away as Tyson tickled his toes. He couldn't get free on his own, but Ray was nice enough to dump him sideways on the couch, allowing him to scramble over to Kai's side and escape.

"Max, get Ray's vulnerable spots!" Tyson encouraged.

Max was too busy trying to stop laughing and catch his breath to answer. Ray crossed his arms and gave Tyson a look that couldn't be interpreted as anything but a challenge.

"Try it. I'm not ticklish."

"Oh yeah?" Tyson, never one to ignore a challenge, immediately went to work trying to tickle Ray's stomach.

Normally Max would have joined in trying to tickle Ray, but his backwards scramble across the couch had brought him right up against Kai. He looked around and found Kai hadn't so much as glanced up from the magazine he was reading.

Max got up on his knees and braced his elbow on the back of the couch so he could read over Kai's shoulder. He recognized the magazine as one he'd already read and left lying around. It was already out of date. The article Kai was reading on rising stars made a big deal about an up-and-coming team called the Lightning Fangs challenging the Bladebreakers.

"Did you read the debate on defense rings?" Max asked, trying to strike up a conversation since Tyson was now busy with his ineffective attempt to find a ticklish part of Ray's body.

No answer.

"Did you skip it?"

Nothing. Kai didn't even seem to notice Max leaning against his arm.

"I thought Dr. Cooper's argument for minimum stabilization was terrible. He really doesn't know anything about long-term defense."

Kai turned the page. For some reason that irritated Max more than his silence.

"Well, I wouldn't be too surprised if you agreed with him, since he reminded me of your defensive strategy," Max needled. It wasn't true. Even though both Kai's temperament and his beyblade were unsuited to a defensive approach, he still had more sense than the article.

That little barb had no effect. Kai typically ignored their antics, but by this point he usually would have at least told Max to go away (or if he was lucky, maybe Kai would talk about defense rings with him, but obviously today was not lucky).

When he was already restless to the point of being twitchy, being ignored made Max want to do something stupid just to get Kai's attention. The way he was leaning over Kai meant the smooth column of Kai's neck was right in front of him, taunting him with unshakable poise. Max was tempted to try a terrible vampire impression and reward Kai with a play-bite on his flawless neck if he kept being so stoic, but he discarded that idea for a slightly safer irritation technique.

Max actually leaned into Kai as he reached around behind and fished an ice cube out of Kai's drink. When even that didn't make Kai react, he dropped it down the back of Kai's collar.

The response was immediate. Kai shot to his feet, one hand grabbing Max's shoulder and bodily shoving him away. Before Max could so much so squeak at the sudden movement he had landed painfully on the hard floor.

Max's brain froze on the fact that Kai looked furious, his teeth clenched in a silent snarl and his eyes wild with a flash of anger. It wasn't until Kai turned away from him that Max realized his hands and backside stung from hitting the floor.

"Hey! What's wrong with you, Kai!?" Tyson yelled. His voice sounded far away to Max, who couldn't seem to even collect himself enough to get up off the floor.

Kai had stalked out of the room without a word.

Max was too stunned to pick himself up off the floor. He hardly even understood Ray asking if he was all right or Tyson declaring how big of a jerk Kai was being. He had wanted Kai's attention, but not like that. Even if he had intended to annoy Kai a little, Max had never thought he could possibly make Kai that mad.

* * *

"Kai?" Max tapped lightly on his teammate's door, not really expecting an answer at this point.

Kai had been shut up in his room since the incident with the ice cube. Max had tried to go through afternoon training as normal, but he couldn't concentrate. Ray had reminded him that they'd all noticed Kai's temper being a little short lately and told him to just give their captain time to cool down. Even knowing Ray's advice was good, Max couldn't leave it at that.

He'd already tried to apologize through the door twice and received no answer.

"I know you're mad, but is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Max asked.

Still no answer. Max was really starting to worry about the silent treatment he was getting. What if Kai never wanted to speak to him again?

Max pressed his ear against the door, listening intently. He was pretty sure Kai was still in there. As he tried to cast about for something he could do, Kai finally opened the door, nearly making Max fall into his room.

Taking a quick step back, Max looked guiltily up at Kai. His hair was all mussed up on one side and his eyes were dull. The emphatic frown on his face did not exactly fill Max with confidence that apologizing would fix anything.

"I'm really sorry!" Max blurted out.

Kai turned a suspicious look on him. "Why? What did you do?"

"About bugging you before. I didn't mean to make you mad."

An almost imperceptible narrowing of Kai's eyes and lips made Max wince, sure that Kai was even more irritated with him now that he had been reminded.

"I'm not mad at you."

"But I already tried to apologize and you wouldn't answer me!"

"I was taking a nap."

"Oh." Max fidgeted in embarrassment. That put Kai's expression in a new light. What he had taken for Kai being angry with him was pretty much Kai's waking-up face. "Sorry," he repeated. "I was being a pest and it was really uncalled for and I shouldn't have done that with the ice cube. And I didn't mean what I said about your defenses, either! You're better than that," Max added, suddenly worried that Kai would think he'd been serious.

"Are you done?" Kai asked. Max nodded sheepishly, and got an answer from Kai that he never could have expected. "I overreacted earlier. Did I hurt you?"

Max shook his head, too surprised to answer. It had almost sounded like an apology, and while he could still see a hint of a frown around Kai's lips, he didn't think Kai was actually angry. There was nothing intimidating about the serious look in Kai's eyes as he spent a moment intently studying Max.

"Good," Kai confirmed shortly.

Max's heart was pounding in a sort of happy confusion. He'd thought any reaction would be fine so long as he could have Kai forgive him, but this was too unexpected.

"But what was it I did that made you so mad before? Was it because I was bothering you when you were trying to read?" Max wasn't sure he would get an answer, but he had to try. "I want to know so I don't do it again."

Before Max could plead his case further, Kai had moved to join him in the doorway. Max froze at the sudden closeness, until he realized that Kai was looking over his shoulder to check if anyone else was listening. Kai turned to meet his eyes again and Max thought his heart would try and jump up into his throat. What had he done wrong that Kai had to be so intense about it?

"I don't like having my neck touched," Kai told him. "You will_ not _tell anyone about that."

Max shook his head obediently, far less intimidated by the commanding growl of Kai's voice than Kai probably intended. No wonder Kai had always kept his neck covered, if he was that sensitive about it. At least it wouldn't be hard to avoid triggering Kai's temper again now that he knew what he'd done.

More than that, Max got to know something about Kai that none of the others knew! Even realizing that Kai had only told him to keep him from being a pest and not because he was at all special, it still made him happy.

"You're safe with me!" Max promised. "And if there's anything I can do to make it up to you-"

"Just drop it. I was on my way out, anyway."

"Oh." Max stepped back, intending to get out of the way and let Kai go. He would have liked to join Kai again, but now that he'd managed to apologize he was aware it was probably better to give Kai a little space.

"Wait there. I have something for you."

Max was too confused and curious to do anything else. Was Kai off getting some implement of revenge? Did he have a new evening training schedule to spring on Max before he went?

When Kai returned a moment later he was carrying a small, glossy-green bundle that he pushed into Max's hands without a word. While Max was standing there, just staring at him in confusion, Kai pulled his door shut with a click and started to walk away.

"You should get out too, before your fidgeting around drives us both crazy."

Max took a closer look at the bundle Kai had given him and found it was a pair of gloves. A really nice pair of gloves, in fact. They looked warm and sturdy, and were even his favorite color!

"Are these really for me?"

"I said they were. Put them on if you're coming."

Max didn't need a second invitation. He happily pulled on the gloves and hurried after Kai. It was a little hard getting his coat on over them, but he was so happy with the gift he didn't care.

"They're really warm!" Max told Kai happily as they stepped out into the chilly air. He was sure Kai had only gotten him gloves because of his carelessness before, but somehow that made the gift even more precious to him. Kai had actually worried enough to make sure he was warm.

"Good," Kai responded. Max could practically hear in his tone that they had better be since that was what they were for, though his expression didn't visibly change.

"I love them!"

"Good." Kai's deadpan response only made Max's grin widen.

"Thank you, Kai."

Kai was apparently done answering him.

"No good?" Max teased. He trotted a little closer, but managed to suppress the urge to hug Kai. He was pretty sure Kai wasn't angry, but he could tell he was being ignored once again.

Max was glad to fall silent for a little while and let Kai think. He felt content in a way he hadn't since they had all returned to their routine at the training center. He didn't know if it was the fresh air or even Kai's silent company that he needed, but his restlessness had finally eased.

As they walked on, Max was barely able to keep up with Kai without stumbling over anything. This time they were sticking to the open area near the road, so that they could see the sunset starting to paint the sky. Max had to try not to trip over his own feet as he stared up, taking in the rich blend of colors. The scattered clouds glowed with tints from pale yellow with soft grey shadows, to ripples of red and orange that reminded Max of the sight of Dranzer's wings.

The resemblance made him glance over at Kai again, and he found his silent companion wasn't looking at the sunset at all. Instead he seemed more interested in the snow at his feet.

"I could go the other way and leave you alone?" Max offered softly. He didn't know what else to do. Kai was obviously bothered by something, even if Max was sure he was no longer angry. "It's not like either of us can get lost when there's just one road."

"I don't have a problem with you."

But he did have a problem, Max realized. Even if he didn't have any idea what it was, he got the feeling something was wrong with Kai, and he immediately wanted to fix it.

"Have you not been sleeping well?" He guessed, suddenly remembering that Kai had said he was taking a nap. And hadn't Kai been up in the middle of the night right before their match?

Kai didn't answer, though Max waited patiently. He knew after the first minute or so that Kai would just ignore the question, but he couldn't turn his attention completely back to the sky.

Max watched the light of the sunset put the faintest tints of red into the silvery parts of Kai's hair when Kai drew ahead of him. He watched the way it threw deep shadows under Kai's eyes when they turned to head back the way they had come. More than anything, he watched Kai's profile until he was sure he was picking up little hints that his favorite captain was at least calm.

As they neared the training center once again, Max finally broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

"Kai?" Max called to get Kai's attention. "Thank you again. I really love the gloves." He held them up and wiggled his fingers happily, and he could swear that Kai looked almost embarrassed at what a fuss he was making.

"But they're not as warm as you!" Max added playfully. With that, he sprinted ahead to the training center, giving Kai space to be as annoyed at the gratitude as he wished.

* * *

It was always the same dream.

Little details shifted and changed, but in the end Kai always found himself surrounded by black fire, colder than ice and more cloying than smoke. If he tried to take a breath it would rush into his mouth and eat away at him from the inside out. If he didn't, it would seep through his skin and do the same.

Sometimes he felt the embrace of a phoenix's wings, sheets of raw fire just a tickling warmth against his skin. Sometimes he fought back by himself. Sometimes one or another of his teammates might even appear to help him. No matter what path the dream took, Kai always found himself struggling awake just as he was consumed by darkness.

Even after waking the feeling wouldn't leave him completely for hours afterward. Just a few years ago Kai had been adept at walling off memories that he didn't want, to the point where he'd needed to be reminded more than once of things he'd completely repressed. Now he could hardly force a simple dream out of his thoughts. No matter what Kai tried he couldn't completely forget how the cold poison of Black Dranzer's presence had felt in the back of his mind, or even force himself to stop dreaming of being overpowered by it.

He knew better than to go back to sleep afterward. The remnants of the dream lingered at the edges of his mind, waiting to swallow him up again if he dared close his eyes now. No matter what he did he would end up exhausted and short on sleep, so Kai avoided throwing himself into the nightmare a second time.

It was well past midnight, but that suited Kai perfectly. At least the rest of his teammates would be asleep at this hour, and no one would question the hours he was keeping. He straightened his bed, not expecting to get any more sleep that night, and went directly to the training area.

The section they had actually claimed as their official training area was only a convenient corner of the space available, since the center had once been meant to house many more beybladers than their single team. They had picked out a private area set up for testing trainees in one-on-one matches, which was the perfect size for the four of them to practice.

Since he didn't have a sparring partner, Kai ignored the small arena with its pair of regulation dishes. One was sunk into the floor, a permanent fixture, while the other was installed on a raised base that allowed the standard dish to be swapped out for any of their small selection of trick dishes. Instead he turned to the obstacle course that wound around most of the rest of their space.

It was pieced together like Frankenstein's monster, with parts added by all five of them. Kenny had probably contributed the most, always looking for ways to help the team improve, but they had all added some twists of their own. One tricky section Ray had put together to help him practice particularly tight turns, and there was the narrow, meandering 'balance beam' Max had spent hours building that even Kai found tested the limits of his control to stay on. Tyson's most ingenious contribution was several planks of old, gouged wood, which Kai had thought a waste of time until he remembered just how many times they'd had to keep battling on an uneven surface or in a dish that had sustained heavy damage. If you could keep your blade from getting caught in one of those knotholes, a chipped dish was nothing. Kai himself had taken to weighting down the cans they still used for targets, so that it took more forceful strikes to send them flying.

Max's balancing section would be his warm-up, Kai decided. It was a smooth rail of wood, just wide enough to hold a single beyblade, that curved and looped all over the room. The rail was built over many of the other elements of the obstacle course to save space. The last time Kai had tried it he'd lost his balance and been knocked off when another blade crashed into one of the supports.

It started out easily enough with a long, sloping curve that mimicked the easy motion of spinning up to the rim of a dish. That was the only simple part, as the rail quickly became an undulating, twisted path that left no room for error. There were patches that were deliberately made smooth or rough, or tilted to one side or the other. Near the end Max had even added loop-the-loops like a roller coaster, so that no one could get through the whole course by just taking it slow.

Kai made it to the end this time. He didn't even realize until he was guiding Dranzer down the final curve at the end, which innocently mirrored the one at the beginning, how tense he was holding himself. It wasn't as if anyone would see him if he failed.

Next Kai took on the normal zig-zag course that was one of the first things they'd set up, not even breaking a sweat after the balance beam. He finished with his own addition to the course, sending his targets flying in every direction.

This level of training wasn't absorbing enough to take his mind off of things. The lingering shreds of his nightmare still gnawed at the edges of his mind, and in the eerie midnight silence Kai couldn't help imagining it really was Black Dranzer still there inside of him. Now that power had touched him, he would probably never be able to forget it completely.

Maybe it was because he was practicing that it wouldn't leave his mind. Maybe he should do something else, anything that wasn't tied to beyblading. It was snowing outside, but not very hard. Maybe a walk alone would clear his head even a little. . . .

Kai let Dranzer loop back to him, sighing in defeat as he bent to retrieve the beyblade before it spun out at his feet. This usually helped. Now he would have to try something else.

"What are you sighing about? That looked like a perfect run to me."

The voice startled Kai, making him turn to find Max standing by the doorway. He had a glass of water in one hand while he rubbed at his eyes with the other.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Max asked, taking Kai's restless training at face value.

"No."

"Just that kind of night, huh? Do you want a drink?" he offered, holding out his own glass. "Or I could make you some tea or something."

"Tea has caffeine in it."

"Oh yeah," Max yawned.

Kai weighed Dranzer in one hand, taking a moment to study Max. His fluffy blond hair was messier than usual, sticking out in all directions. The look in his eyes was soft and unassuming, dulled with sleepiness. His nose wrinkled cutely when he yawned again. Max was familiar, amiable, even endearing at times. Even preferring solitude, Kai found him easy to be around. . . sometimes.

As he struggled to reconcile the idea that he didn't mind Max's company, Kai remembered Max's aimless talk banishing the dream once before. Max was exactly the distraction he needed, but there was more to it than that. Max was _safe_.

"Max," Kai started. 'Talk to me,' he wanted to say, but the request refused to leave his mouth. He couldn't admit he wanted Max's help, knowing the sympathy and curiosity that would result. Those nightmares were his own personal horror, and Kai was determined to keep them private.

"Hm?"

Kai looked away from the eager boy. "You awake enough for a practice match?"

"Sure!" If he hadn't been before, he obviously was now. "Let me go get Draciel!"

Max went running off with such enthusiasm that Kai worried he would wake the others. He could hear the faint sound of running footsteps all the way to Max's room. Before Kai had even finished resetting the targets Max was back, bounding in with beyblade and launcher in hand.

"Let's use the new dish," he called, running to get it before Kai could even protest.

Their newest trick dish, nicknamed the topsy-turvy dish, was apparently a big thing in America right now. Max's mom had sent it to him for training. The dish was set on a joint that moved independently of its base with the slightest shift in weight. Ray had quickly mastered the trick of using the dish's motion to flip his opponent's blade right out, which was driving both Tyson and Kai crazy. The only reason Max could hold his ground against Ray was because he was cautious enough to keep to the bottom of the dish where he couldn't be thrown.

Kai hated that particular trick dish, but he realized he still needed to master it himself. Facing off against Max for practice wouldn't go amiss, and none of the others even needed to know. He helped Max set it up before taking his place opposite the energetic blond. Had Max really been half-asleep a few minutes ago?

"Three, two, one, let it rip!" Max shouted, his voice carrying over Kai's silence.

Both of their beyblades landed neatly on opposite sides of the dish, which immediately tipped towards Max's side. Draciel was heavier, built for stability. That was why he usually kept down away from the rim of the tilting dish, Kai suddenly realized. If he could force Max up towards the edge he could grab an easy win.

"Dranzer, drive him back!"

"Don't let him push you around, Draciel!"

Kai watched his blade arc after Max's on the attack, only to have Max stand his ground. When Kai tried to push Max's blade up the side of dish he found gravity working against him, as Max could strike back harder from the higher angle.

Breaking off, they went back to circling each other. Their blades sped around the dish, faster and faster, until Kai realized the dish was no longer rocking with the motion. They had reached a perfect harmony, balancing the dish between the two of them.

Kai looked up at his partner. Max was grinning, flushed in the face and practically reverberating with a joy Kai could feel just watching him. It was as if their match had become something less, or perhaps something more, than an outright battle. As if it was a _game_. Kai could feel his own heart pounding, but strangely not from the adrenaline of a suspenseful match.

Each duck and weave, each attack and retreat, was matched perfectly. Even with the difference in weight between their blades the dish stayed still, and Kai knew he was making a point to balance Max's movements as perfectly as Max complimented his.

They were playing together instead of honestly facing off. Suddenly annoyed, Kai broke off the pattern to go after Max in earnest again. Dranzer chased Max's Draciel up and around the side of the dish, making it tilt crazily until it was fit to throw them both.

Kai managed to knock Draciel out at last, almost into Max's waiting hands. His lighter Dranzer blade managed to stay in about a second longer, spinning valiantly on the rim, until momentum and gravity proved too much and tipped him out as well. Dranzer clattered to the floor on one side of the dish, directly between the two of them.

"That was great!" Max enthused.

He moved to fetch Kai's blade a second before Kai could collect it, so that Kai found Max's hand trapped under his. He gave his cheerful teammate a warning look, about to tell him to back off.

With an oblivious smile, Max picked up Kai's beyblade to lay it in his waiting hand.

"Sorry, Kai." The look Max was giving him almost seemed to invite him to share in a joke, but if so it was one Kai had missed. "I thought you were upset about something before, but it looks like I was wrong."

Clenching his hand around Dranzer, Kai turned away to avoid Max's friendly smile. He wasn't aware of it until now, but Max's presence had completely swept away the lingering sick feeling in the back of his mind. He felt clear-headed once again.

"Don't you want to go another round or two?"

"I think I'll go back to sleep now."

"Not fair! Now I'm all awake."

"Then count horses," Kai suggested, making Max laugh.

"Maybe I'll try some hot milk and honey. My dad makes that all the time when he can't sleep." Max stretched both arms over his head. "Do you want some?"

"Fine." Kai wasn't sleepy yet, and he could swear Max had just held in a yawn. He told himself it would be easier to go along with Max than be pestered by him.

Max hummed to himself as he heated the milk in the microwave. Kai dug around the cupboard until he found honey. Max's humming was almost tuneless, like the droning of a contented bee, so that Kai couldn't even try to guess the song. He was sure it was going to get on his nerves in a minute.

Max glanced over at him and gave him a playful grin as he stirred honey into their hot milk.

"What is it?" Kai muttered, not amused by the idea that Max was laughing at him.

"You're always up so early, I never would have taken you for a night-owl, but here you are," Max explained as they went to sit together on the large couch in the common room.

"Hm." Kai had no response for that. He certainly wasn't up at this hour by choice. He leaned into the armrest and sipped at his milk. It was a little too sweet for his tastes, much like his company.

Max went back to humming to himself for a few minutes, softly enough that it didn't really bother Kai. He hardly even noticed when Max's humming tapered off into silence.

Just as Kai was finishing off the last few drops of his milk, he felt Max lean into his shoulder. He would have pushed the younger boy off, but with the way Max was sagging in his seat, his own cup of milk in danger of spilling into his lap, Kai guessed he was too close to sleep to know what he was doing.

"Get to bed," Kai instructed. He eased the mug out of Max's hands and set it aside before it could fall.

"Mm. . . But 'm comfy."

Kai stood and Max slid sideways to lay in the seat he had been using, curling up as if he meant to go to sleep right there. Ordinarily Kai might have left him to it, but Max had just pushed that dream out of his head. He owed Max something, even if Max didn't know it.

"Come on," Kai grumbled, pulling at Max to get him up.

To his surprise Max came without complaint and let Kai put him briskly to bed. For all Kai knew he was asleep the minute the light went out.

Kai returned to his own room and dropped into sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. If any dreams came to occupy him, he didn't remember them in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Whew! Once again I have to give a big thank you to my lovely beta slr2moons for helping me clean up this chapter! I'll leave my other notes at the end this time, so for now please enjoy the new chapter! Same time next week?

* * *

Every time they took a break at least one of them would be on the phone to some friend or family member in a different part of the world, depending on the time of day. Max occasionally wondered what Mr. Dickenson would say about the phone bills they had to be racking up for him. He remembered having to put a kitchen timer by the phone at home when he wanted to call his mom long distance, and he wasn't doing that now when he called her in the evenings.

Their break after lunch usually meant time to phone Japan. In addition to chatting with his dad, and sometimes Tyson's grandpa, Max considered that time to talk to the newest member of their team. He had never realized Hilary had become part of the team until she decided to stay behind. Even Tyson had wanted her to come–never mind that most of their conversations eventually devolved into yelling matches–or at least he had complained at length about her turning down the invitation because she wasn't willing to miss a month of school.

At this point it felt strange not having Hilary with them. She had become their conditioning coach, even combining forces with the chief to impose a voice of reason over the four headstrong beybladers on the team. Maybe that was why Kenny seemed to be missing her the most. He was the one who kept calling her, and Max didn't think it was just to be considerate.

Right now Kenny was off in his own world, happily chatting on the phone with Hilary while Max tried to help Tyson with some of the make-up work Hilary kept emailing him. Max had just wanted to keep his friends company and eventually get a turn on the phone. Instead he had been volunteered as Tyson's math tutor. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but Max didn't see how he was being any real help to Tyson.

The past year Max had spent as a tester in his mom's lab had meant learning to apply physics to things he used to figure out by trial and error or gut feel. She wanted him to really understand her work, and thanks to her tutoring Max had found himself in math and physics classes three years ahead of his grade. He had stayed on top of the subjects so far mostly because of his determination to make his mom proud. Unfortunately, understanding the material didn't make Max a good teacher any more than trying to glare holes in his papers made Tyson a better student.

Max leaned his elbows on the table, forehead braced on his hands. He had thought he was being brilliant when he told Tyson to just do it so that the units made sense, but then Tyson would multiply meters by meters and get meters and Max could not seem to think of another way to explain. Max could have given up and found something of his own to work on, but his only really challenging assignments were the ones his mom sent him. He preferred to focus on those by himself.

He was actually at the point where hearing Kenny happily talking about how they'd tried this or that new strategy was as bad as Tyson trying to growl his word problems into submission. It only served to remind Max that someone else was having fun.

Flopping back to lay on the carpet, Max let his hands fall away from his face and found himself with a snail's eye view of Kai. He looked utterly unconcerned, standing casually in the doorway with his arms crossed as he surveyed the room with an air of boredom.

Kai looked down and raised his eyebrows at Max, as if silently asking what he was doing sprawled out on the floor. Max just squirmed around until he found a slightly more comfortable position on the carpet. He watched the way Kai's attention moved quickly down the line of his body to focus on Tyson, still muttering threats at his homework, and Kenny, still curled up in an armchair and holding the cordless phone with both hands.

Max almost asked if Kai wanted to take a turn at trying to help Tyson with math, but bit his tongue just in time. He would like Kai to hang out with them for once instead of turning around and walking right back out of the room.

"Hey, Kai," Max called up at him. "We've got Hilary on the phone, if you want to say hi."

That made Tyson look up, eagerly seeking a distraction now that both of his 'tutors' were involved with other things. Kai's attention flicked back down at Max, who gave him an encouraging smile. That was a lot better reason to stick around than homework, at least as far as Max was concerned. Kai did step out of the doorway and move into the room to join them.

Max had to shift and pull his shirt down as he felt a draft across his exposed stomach. While he was getting comfortable again, Kai had stopped next to him to look at Tyson's half-finished work instead of waiting to take the phone.

It suddenly occurred to Max that he hadn't seen Kai phone anyone, not at any time of day. Max didn't think Kai had even said more than hello to Hilary since they'd come out to the training center. Maybe he really did find homework more interesting than the phone.

"No, Kai just came in," Kenny was saying in the background. "I don't think he wants to talk to you."

Max sat up again, interested in the response that would get, while Kai didn't so much as blink. Kenny suddenly burst out, much louder than before and sounding almost panicked, "I didn't mean it that way!"

Kenny yanked the phone away from his ear, which Max guessed meant he'd been scolded for his comment. Now that the phone wasn't near his mouth, Hilary probably couldn't even hear him apologizing and trying to tell her that he wasn't implying she wasn't worth talking to, just that Kai was being Kai. It was probably an accurate estimation, too. Kai just wasn't a social person.

For a few seconds it was pretty funny to see how red Kenny's face could get, but Max took pity on him soon enough. He shifted to his knees and leaned between Tyson and Kai, who had both jerked away from the noise and now were trying to look as if they hadn't, and took the phone from Kenny.

"Hey, Hil?" Max greeted. "It's Max."

That stopped her mid-complaint. She was one of the few people Max knew who could actually listen while yelling. "Max? You put Kenny back on right now."

"Just give him a minute so he can apologize, okay?"

The noise Hilary made in response to that was actually pretty cute. Max could almost picture the face she must be making, her cheeks all puffed out with angry words that she wasn't going to let herself say.

"You know the chief likes talking to you. We all do," Max said, trying to think of something complimentary that would get Kenny out of trouble. "He calls you way more than anyone else, even his folks."

Kenny, who had been sitting half-stunned by embarrassment, made a strangled noise and grabbed for the phone. "Don't tell her that!"

Max mouthed, 'I'm just helping,' at him. While he was distracted, Tyson snatched the phone out of his hand.

"Hey!" Max and Kenny protested in unison.

"What's up with all this homework you keep sending!? I never did this much work going to class," Tyson wanted to know. He paused, looking irritated, and then, "You can talk to the Chief after you tell my why you're sending all this stuff! You're just trying to torture me, aren't you?"

While Tyson was monopolizing Hilary with complaints, Kenny had his own grievance to air.

"Why did you have to tell her that?"

"What?" Max asked, not having any idea what he'd done wrong. Kenny always seemed to pretty much put his foot in his mouth at least once every time he tried to talk to Hilary, so Max had just tried to help smooth things over a little. "You really don't know how to make a girl happy, do you?" he asked Kenny.

"Wh-well how would you know? I'm a whole year older than you!"

"So is Tyson, and he still thinks girls have cooties."

"I'm right here, you know. I can hear you," Tyson grumbled, somehow managing to pay attention to their argument. "And I know Hilary doesn't have cooties. She's just annoying."

Unfortunately Tyson was still holding the phone to his mouth when he said that. Max could actually hear Hilary shout, "Tyson!" from where he was sitting.

"Huh? What?"

Max shook his head at Tyson with a resigned sigh. Neither of them would let go of the argument once they got going, and there was no way to separate them without getting the phone out of Tyson's death-grip. Not that Kenny wasn't trying. Kai actually looked like he was entertained by their antics, which was probably the only reason he was still hanging around.

"Get your face over here and I'll say it to your face!" Tyson was shouting at the phone.

"So how're you today?" Max directed at Kai, familiarity making the scene in front of him significantly less interesting. He tuned out both arguments with the ease of long practice.

"Fine."

"Anything interesting lined up?"

Kai didn't dignify that with a response. One faintly raised eyebrow questioned Max even needing to ask, which only made Max smile.

"Want to go out?" Max tilted his head toward the door. Anything to get away from homework for a little bit. It was making him claustrophobic. "With me?"

Wanting to get away for a little while and wanting to have company should have been at cross purposes, but not when Kai was involved. His relationship with Kai was already a bundle of contradictions. Things like translating the silence, or like placing absolute trust to watch your back in a guy who could disappear as quickly as a ninja if you actually did turn your back to him. One more anomaly certainly wouldn't hurt.

Max thought Kai might be considering the offer when Ray finally joined them. He had apparently finished the letter he was writing to his friends back home while Tyson and Kenny fought over the phone.

"So what did I miss?"

"Tyson hung up on Hilary!" Kenny complained. Max hadn't even noticed.

"Hey, at least she's mad at him now and not you," Max said, trying to make Kenny feel a little better. After yet another argument and then having Tyson hang up on her there was no way she'd remember Kenny had said something a little thoughtless. Not that she was ever that hard on Kenny, now that he thought about it. Max had never seen them on bad terms for more than a minute.

"Yeah, well, Max thinks he knows all about girls," Tyson said sulkily.

"Was he telling you about his girlfriend or something?" There was an innocent curiosity in Ray's voice, but the question still made Max want to squirm in embarrassment.

"Yeah, Max, did you get a girlfriend you haven't been telling us about?" Tyson joined in, and now Max was sure he was being needled.

"Of course not."

Max could feel his face getting hot even before Tyson laughed.

"Then how would you know anything about it?" Tyson asked.

"At least he tries to be nice to Hilary," Kenny pointed out. He was still sulking over Tyson hanging up on her without giving the phone back.

"Yeah, but if he tries to pick up girls the same way he asked Kai out just now, it's no wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend."

Max clenched his jaw so hard it felt frozen shut. He wasn't asking Kai out! That was completely different! And how had Tyson even heard him during that shouting match?

"It's not a big deal. He'll figure it out soon enough," Ray said. Maybe he was trying to be diplomatic, but Max's pride still bristled in response to the comment.

Nothing they said did anything but feed Max's embarrassment and anger. He sat perfectly tense, both hands clenched into fists on his lap, sure he was being taunted and absolutely determined not to let them get a rise out of him. He felt as if his face was on fire.

"Pfft, yeah," Tyson laughed in agreement with Ray's comment, reaching across the table to ruffle Max's hair. "You're still a little kid, huh Maxie?"

"Knock it off!" Max snapped, jerking away from Tyson's hand.

"Hey, I'm just teasing. You don't need to bite my head off."

Max was about ready to literally bite Tyson's hand if it didn't get away from him. It shouldn't have even been that sensitive of a subject, but Tyson knew exactly which button to press. He opened his mouth, not sure if he was going to bite Tyson or tell him he hated him, but found himself abruptly interrupted.

"Come on."

"Huh?" Anger gave way before confusion and surprise as Kai hooked one arm under his, pulling him to his feet with one no-nonsense jerk. Max was too startled to do anything but go along with it when Kai pulled.

"We're going out."

Kai's arm around his shoulders, pushing him determinedly out of the room, made even a simple noise of confusion too much for Max. He stared up at Kai's profile, but Kai was looking straight ahead, his expression tight and unreadable.

"Whoo-hoo! Looks like you got that date with Kai after all! Next thing you know you'll be dating real girls!"

"Tyson, knock it off," muttered a single voice of reason behind them.

Kai dropped his arm, but Max wasn't sure if it had anything to do with Tyson's catcalling or just because he was stopping to pull on his coat. Max was half-stunned, but after a moment of hesitation he followed Kai's example by pulling on coat and boots and gloves.

As Kai led him outside with a firm hand on his arm, Max let himself be distracted by the dazzle of sunlight on snow. At least Kai was on his side, maybe. Or at least Kai wasn't making verbal jabs at him. At that moment Max probably would have followed wherever Kai led.

* * *

Max had been silent since they started their walk, which should have been pleasant but was actually starting to bother Kai. He kept looking down at the snow, hands deep in his pockets, with a morose expression that just didn't fit his face. Every other time they'd gone out Max had obviously been completely caught up in appreciating the world around him. Now he probably would have walked blindly into something with his head down if Kai wasn't there to keep an eye on him.

Kai didn't know why a few teasing words had upset Max so much, but it had been pretty obvious from his expression he was about to snap and say or do something to his best friend that he would end up regretting. It was much better to separate them before that could happen than spend days trying to deal with two very stubborn teammates who were too mad to speak to each other. Even Kai knew that.

Without thinking, Kai reached out and guided Max closer. He was trying to keep Max from walking into a tree with his head down, but Max didn't stop at arm's length. He took a few sideways steps closer and let his head bump against Kai's chest.

Max stopped short and Kai stopped too, suddenly tense. He hadn't really known what to expect when he dragged Max off, but he had some ideas now. If Max cried on him he was going to turn around and go straight back by himself.

"Kai?"

"Hm?" Kai looked straight ahead, not sure what to do. He didn't exactly want to encourage Max to get all miserable on him.

"You're the best friend I have."

"That's pretty sad."

Max let out a weak little laugh under his breath. Kai hesitantly patted him on the shoulder to encourage him, because it was better than dealing with an upset Max. Kai had no idea how to handle that and he didn't know any more why he had decided this was his job.

To his surprise, Max's arms slipped around him in a loose hug. Kai froze at the unfamiliar touch.

"You're really nice."

"I thought you said I was a sadist," Kai commented. He wasn't really thinking about what came out of his mouth at that point. He was more preoccupied with the internal battle of whether to endure the hug or pry Max off.

Max looked up at him at last. His eyes were wide with a sort of innocent surprise that told Kai he didn't even remember his own comment at first. Kai took advantage of that surprise to back out of Max's arms.

"I didn't mean that!" Max protested. "I was just being stupid because it was really cold and you were so warm it hurt. I know you're not like that."

Surprise had quickly channeled into dismay, and Kai caught himself starting to miss the cheerful, exuberant side of Max he usually saw. He would really have to remember this the next time he was wishing Max would be quiet for a few minutes.

"I know you're not the kind of person who enjoys hurting people just to hurt them. You defend people! I'd trust you with my life! And. . . and you're really nice, sometimes."

Max's distress was overpowering, to the point where all Kai wanted was to either make it go away or get away from it. It didn't help that he kept trying to explain how great he thought Kai was. Max having too high an opinion of his character was yet another thing Kai didn't know how to fix.

"Okay," Kai finally interrupted. "I know you don't think that." Just as Max turned a hopeful look on him, Kai realized how he could use this to neutralize the stupid argument that he'd dragged Max away from in the first place.

"Don't you think Tyson might not mean some of the stupid things he says?" Kai pointed out, unforgivingly blunt.

Max crossed his arms, hunching up defensively in his coat. He kept his head half-turned away from Kai, who was in turn studiously not looking directly at him. The shared embarrassment between them was already tangible. There was no need to make it worse by adding eye contact to the mix. After only a moment of uncomfortable silence, Max started in on his confession.

"You don't know about this, but a few months ago I asked this girl out who was a couple years older than me. She laughed in my face and said no way was she going out with a _little kid_." Max took a deep breath and let it out again while Kai waited for the other shoe to drop.

"If Tyson'd just made fun of me at the time, fine, but even when I tried to laugh it off he was defending me. He was all, 'forget about it, she's not worth it,' and then he throws it back in my face later."

Kai privately thought that Tyson had taken his own advice and forgotten about the whole thing. He'd just thought he was being funny, and wouldn't have any idea what he'd done wrong when Max exploded at him. He hadn't even seemed to realize how close Max had been to snapping. Kai had been able to tell what was coming, but apparently he was the only one actually looking at Max carefully enough to notice.

"Keep walking," Kai suggested, giving Max's shoulder a light nudge to get him moving. He thought Max's brain might process things better while he moved, and if they stood too long he would start to feel the chill in the air.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai watched as Max's expression slowly lightened. Max took things far too personally sometimes, but he could also bounce back from anything that hurt him. Kai was sure he would be back to himself quickly enough without further intervention, and would be relieved to see it.

Kai had noticed Max discovering an interest in girls, but since he didn't let it impact him during a match there hadn't been much reason to pay attention. It was just a harmless little character trait, no more important than noticing how Max's face would get red when he ate spicy food. Kai had been secretly grateful to Emily for giving Max a good example why not to go easy on an opponent just because they were a girl, but that was about all the conscious thought he had put into it.

Except if Max's flirting was such an inconsequential little thing, that begged the question of why he was out here with Max instead of training. What was he supposed to do to avoid dealing with Max's bruised feelings in the future, tell him that crushes were against regulations?

Kai glanced over at Max and found that he looked himself again, if a little wistful. He started to steer their steps into a loop that would take them back to the training center.

"I bet that never happens to you, right? Getting turned down, I mean."

"It's never come up," Kai answered cooly. "I've never bothered to ask anyone out before."

"So you let them come to you?" was Max's assumption.

"I have no interest in dating," Kai finally said it flat-out.

"Wait. . . You're not interested in any girls?"

"I'm not interested in anyone."

"Oh." Max blinked at him in confusion. Kai really expected him to keep asking questions, or say even he couldn't be that anti-social, but Max didn't do any of that. He seemed to simply accept what Kai said as truth.

"Why are we back on the subject of me?" Kai wanted to know.

"Um. . ." Max still looked embarrassed, but he was half-smiling now. "I guess because I don't want to talk about how Tyson probably didn't even mean half of what he said. I kinda overreacted, huh?"

Kai didn't answer, either to confirm or deny. He simply felt relieved to see that Max was getting back to his normal self. Seeing him upset or hurt was just unpleasant. Maybe his relief showed, because Max glanced at him, and the little sheepish smile widened into something more genuine.

"Thanks for getting me out of there before I bit him or something."

Kai let out a strangled laugh-snort before he could stop himself at the mental image of Max biting someone. He actually wouldn't put it past Max if he was in the right mood. . . or the wrong one, in this case.

Max finally laughed then. The sound of his voice, ringing in the still atmosphere over the snow, cleared all of the nagging frustrations out of Kai's head. It made Kai think that maybe this wasn't such a bad use of his time. The walk hadn't been completely wasted.

The rest of their walk back was actually pleasant, and Kai found himself almost wishing it could have gone on a little longer.

Max, at least, was eager to get back to training. He shrugged off his coat, abandoning his outside clothes in a heap that Kai was certainly not cleaning up, and hurried to join the others in the training arena.

Tyson and Ray were in the middle of a practice match. Kai got Max over to their obstacle course and challenged him to see who could knock down the most targets, intending to keep him separated from Tyson until he knew if tempers would flare back up.

He needn't have bothered. The minute Tyson had finished his match with Ray, he called over, "Hey Maxie, you're up next, right?" And Max jumped right on the challenge. Just like that, the whole argument was cast aside and forgotten as if it had never happened.

* * *

Extra author's notes:

I've mentioned it vaguely before, but the guys are in the western part of Russia right now, so the time zone difference is such that early afternoon for them is early evening back in Japan.

I must apologize for the lack of Hilary. I wanted to base part one on the first season when I wrote my original (very rough) draft, even though I've refined it to fit with later elements, spoilers, and characters. I promise she will be back with the main cast if I can make it to part two.

Finally, because the way I brought it up is a little confusing, meters multiplied by meters is actually meters squared (like length x width = area). (I totally can't blame Tyson on this one. Even after years of math/science courses, the simplest mistakes remain the easiest for me to make.)


	6. Chapter 6

Finally, I'm back! I'm very sorry for the delay with this chapter. I just started a new job, and things have been pretty hectic here. I should also warn that next weekend I will be out of town and I don't know if I'll have internet access. I will try my best to have chapter 7 up late Sunday night if internet fails me.

One extra note: Max/Kai (or Kai/Max) is the only pairing I really intend to explore. There will be hints of other pairings (whether for plot, or because I'm having fun, or just by accident), but I'm not going to go in depth with any of them or make them official.

Many, many thanks to slr2moons for helping me straighten out several tangled bits in this chapter and for giving me a quick beta on top of everything! Many thanks also go to RK, my lovely sounding board. Love and hugs for all my patient readers! I'm glad to show this fic is not dead, and I hope you'll all keep enjoying it with me until the end! I'm not sure how this chapter turned out so long, but call it a present to you!

* * *

Pacing excitedly as far as the phone cord would allow, Max dialed the number he already knew by heart.

He had just wolfed down dinner, tried to excuse himself and say thanks for the meal all in one breath, and bolted into the adjacent kitchen for the nearest phone. The cordless headset might have afforded him more pacing room, but that was so far away!

It should be his mom's lunch break now. He tried to picture where she was as he waited for her to pick up the phone. Would she be sitting in the cafeteria or at her desk? Would he be interrupting her while she was getting her lunch?

"Hello?"

"Mom?" Max greeted happily.

"Max, is that you? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great! How's everything at the lab?" Even with regular emails Max always enjoyed getting to hear her voice. He paced furiously in excitement, nearly losing the phone as he stretched the cord to its limit. The kitchen offered him more space than he could cover, being large enough to provide meals for all on-site staff and students when the center held more than five people, so it was hard to know where to turn around.

"I'm good, honey."

She sounded distracted, and Max paused his energetic pacing. He leaned against the nearest counter, not caring when his elbow knocked into a pan that had been left out.

"How's work going? Hey, when are you going to tell me about that big project you've been working on?"

His mom laughed, probably because he asked her that practically every time they talked. "Soon," was all she would say.

Kai chose that moment, as Max was grinning to himself at hearing his mom laugh, to shoulder the door open and step into the kitchen with a stack of dirty plates. They traded a quick glance, with Max trying to convey in a smile that it was the most wonderful evening ever and Kai remaining utterly unimpressed.

Max knew better than to take the silence personally, or even to assume that Kai was in a bad mood. Instead he pushed himself away from the counter and started consolidating used cooking implements by the sink for Kai.

All of them kept trading chores with Ray to have him cook whenever possible, which obviously included cleaning up the kitchen. It didn't matter how much he protested that he'd only had a part-time job as a prep cook and he wasn't a real chef or anything. He was obviously the best cook among them, even if that only meant his cooking was consistently tasty (and healthy enough to keep the Chief from complaining). Max was fairly sure none of them were bad enough to actually poison each other or blow up the kitchen, but not everything they came up with was exactly appetizing.

"You know, if you needed me to come home and test it for you-" Max started to offer. He was using his shoulder to brace the phone against his ear so he had both hands free to gather up scattered utensils while Kai left the kitchen again, presumedly to keep clearing the table.

"No, you focus on your training right now," she insisted in her this-is-not-up-for-discussion tone. "I promise I'll show you once it's ready."

He really would have liked to hear more about what she was up to, but he knew better than to pester her about one of her top-secret projects.

"Oh! You know that beydish you sent? Ray figured out how to do the coolest-"

"Max, I'm sorry, but if there isn't anything urgent I should get back to work here."

"Oh. No, it's nothing. I just wanted to say hi. I thought it would be your lunch break so you could. . . ." Max trailed off, disappointment making him still his restless gathering until Kai slipped up beside him to pry the cutting board and knife he'd been absentmindedly clutching out of his grip.

"I'm sorry I'm so busy right now. I'll phone you when I can, okay?"

"Okay." Max fiddled guiltily with the phone cord, now that his hands were empty. This always happened if he picked the wrong time, but he didn't know what else to do. It would be better if he could call her after work, but that was the middle of the night here.

"You know you can always email me if you need something, okay honey?" she reminded him. Max knew she meant to be reassuring, but her warm tone only made him suddenly lonely. "Love you."

"I know," Max promised. He looked over at Kai filling up the sink and then quickly twisted away to face the wall. Maybe if he hid his face behind the phone Kai wouldn't notice his sudden change in mood.

Max waited for Kai to step around him and leave the kitchen again before telling his mom, "I love you too." It was probably just an overreaction, since he had made a habit of embarrassing himself lately, but suddenly he was too nervous to say those words in front of Kai.

After a quiet goodbye, Max hung up, sighed, and promptly pulled the phone right back off of the hook when he tried to step away. He'd managed to wrap the cord around his body by turning to avoid Kai's face.

Max hung the phone up, more carefully this time, and stood with his hand on it. For one melancholy moment he kept looking at it, as if his mom might call back any second. He should know better by now. He'd have an email waiting in the morning, but there was no way the phone was going to ring.

Suddenly irritated at his own reaction, Max shook his head furiously as if he could banish his own mood that way. When Kai stepped back into the kitchen with a stack of serving dishes he was still trying to shake off that mental cloud.

Kai moved to give him a wide berth, but Max turned and practically pounced on him.

"I'll help," Max insisted, trying to take the dishes out of Kai's hands.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping," Max repeated.

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

Kai won their little tug-of-war over the dishes, but he also seemed to recognize that further questioning would be a losing battle. That, or the hopeful look Max was giving him actually worked, though Max was pretty sure he was immune to puppy eyes.

"If you want to help, go finish clearing the table."

Max did as he was asked, stepping back into the adjoining staff lounge they had appropriated as their dining room and gathering up the last of the scattered plates and glasses. He didn't want to be washing dishes, but he needed something to do with himself.

This would have been more fun with Tyson, or even Kenny. If it was Tyson they would easily find something fun about the chore. Instead, Kai just accepted an extra pair of hands without comment. He wouldn't care if Max was sulking or not, and didn't do a thing about the black cloud on Max's mood.

Except, after a few minutes of rinsing and drying dishes for Kai, Max felt as if his sulk had petered itself out. Kai didn't have to offer a single comforting or humorous word. All he did was glance over occasionally when he passed something to Max, and once in a while their fingertips would brush, and somehow Max felt a sense of comradery buoying him up just from the fact of Kai's presence.

Max finally mustered up another smile, because it was still a great day, even if he hadn't gotten to talk to his mom for as long as he would have liked. It felt like Kai smiled back at him, though his mouth never so much as twitched.

"How do you do that?"

This wasn't the first time Kai had done that to him. Max had always thought that keeping everything to himself when he was having a bad day would just be an excuse to stew and feel worse. Contrary to his expectations, he hadn't needed to complain or actively try to forget what was upsetting him. Just being near Kai made him feel calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

That was so like Kai, Max could only smile a little wider. Of course Kai would keep his sneaky technique a secret. Max gave him a conspiratorial nudge, which only earned him an inscrutable glance from Kai.

With his good mood fully restored, Max didn't have to pretend excitement when Tyson burst into the kitchen because there were a bunch of monster movies on one of the few channels they got out here and _Max you're going to miss it, get in here already_. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Kai hadn't ignored the siren call of B-movies, disappearing without a word the minute the dishes were done.

* * *

"But it's movie night! It's a good way to relax, right?"

Kai tried to ignore the sound of Tyson's voice outside of his room. Tyson had grabbed Max for his movie night almost immediately, but apparently he wouldn't be happy until he'd recruited the rest of them as well. He hadn't started in on Kai yet, so maybe he realized Kai had no interest in his idea of entertainment.

"I don't know. I still have a lot of work to do," came Kenny's uncertain response. Kai could tell he would rather avoid another monster movie as well, if for different reasons.

"I was just going to take a bath," was Ray's excuse. That was actually legitimate for him. They had never figured out if he just liked long baths or if it really took him that long to wash his hair.

"Come on, you guys! Don't be so boring."

"Wait, Tyson! I told you I have work to do!"

"It's not gonna be that scary. Don't be such a chicken, Chief."

"I am not a chicken!"

"Then why don't you watch it with us?"

"Tyson," Ray interrupted, "You don't have to make him watch it if he's scared."

"I'm not scared! I just told you!"

Kai tried to focus on his book, though he was half-listening to Tyson herding Kenny into the common room for the movie. In the back of his mind he was considering what possible fallout this situation could have for him. He usually thought Kenny needed to toughen up a bit, and a scary movie wouldn't do any real harm, but he also didn't want to deal with someone else being up all night if he couldn't sleep himself.

After a moment, Kai realized someone had been absent from that conversation, at least until there was a light knock on his half-open door.

"Don't you want to see the movie with us? It's supposed to be really creepy."

Kai looked up to find Max hovering in the doorway, looking at him with such glowing optimism that he almost made it sound like a tempting idea.

"I'm not interested in monster movies."

"But it's one with a ghost this time! And we made popcorn," Max tempted. "And we won't make you clean up or anything."

"You just had dinner," Kai pointed out, trying to cover his amusement that Max apparently hadn't had enough of his company while washing up.

"Then you don't have to have any. Please, Kai? It'd be more fun with you."

"No." Kai meant to say that, 'no, I will not make it fun,' but he left it at that.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll pass."

Kai looked down at his book again, trying to avoid Max's sudden disappointed pout. Why should Max even care if he was there or not? Kai knew he wasn't a fun target they could scare, and he couldn't see why else Max would want him.

"Well, if you change your mind, you're welcome to join us."

Max finally left him to his book, which Kai now realized he couldn't focus on. He could hear the movie starting in the other room, but that wasn't what was distracting him now.

By now Max should have known to give up on him after asking once, unless it was something actually important. Movies didn't count. Not that it was completely unlike him to try coaxing Kai to join in, but lately his attitude seemed a little different. Kai felt his already friendly teammate was trying to be around him more than usual.

Maybe it was just because they'd shared two sleepless nights recently, by sheer coincidence Kai reminded himself, that it felt like Max was around more. Or maybe those accidental meetings had encouraged Max to try harder at making friends with him. Then again, Max had been unexpectedly friendly to him since their first battle. Nothing important was changing.

It wasn't that he disliked Max. Quite the opposite at times. But lately, between lack of sleep and other stresses weighing on his mind, Kai did not want company. Why should Max's company be any different when just the normal sound of his teammate's voices grated on his nerves? He might as well avoid all of them when he could before Max became another source of stress. He had plenty of other things to do without them. He had his book to focus on.

Kai wondered how bad that movie really was.

Two loud shrieks interrupted Kai's thoughts. The voices were too familiar for him to assume it was just the movie. He put his book aside, finally giving up reading as a lost cause for now, and went to investigate.

"Sorry," Max was saying as Kai walked in. Both he and Tyson were on the couch, still shaking with gasps of laughter, while Kenny was sitting sprawled on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"It wasn't funny," Kenny managed, sounding more angry than panicked.

"I wasn't trying to get you," Tyson explained, calming down enough to offer Kenny a hand up. He got a look of distrust for his trouble.

Kai had moved up to stand at the back of the couch as he took in the scene before asking, "What's going on out here?"

Max jerked around to look up at him and flushed. His obvious embarrassment only made Kai focus on him. "I. . . Tyson went for my vulnerable spots-"

"Your what?"

"He tickled me! And I kind of yelled and jumped into the Chief and startled him."

"And you kicked me," Tyson added, though it was obvious there were no hard feelings.

Max did toss in an apology for the kick in between his more honest attempts to make sure Kenny hadn't hurt himself when he (from what Kai could gather) had tried to leap up from the couch. Kai tuned all of them out. This did explain why he had heard two shouts, and now that he thought about it Kai was fairly sure he should have expected something like this.

"Do you guys really have to have it up so loud?"

Ray had apparently cut his bath short to see what was going on. He came in behind Kai, only half-dressed in a pair of soft blue pajama pants and still toweling off his long hair.

"That wasn't the movie, it was the Chief," Tyson explained. He and Max had helped a very reluctant Kenny back onto the sofa while their movie continued, ignored, in the background.

Ray looked over at Kai and gestured at Kenny, his movement subtle enough to go over the other's heads, silently asking Kai to confirm what was going on. Kai gave him a slight nod of confirmation and then shrugged. As if Ray really needed to ask. Of course it was because Kenny had his nerves on edge, even if they hadn't meant any real harm.

"Hey, Chief, when you have a minute could you help me look over Driger's-"

"Sure!" Kenny practically shot out of his seat. "Let me do that right now before we forget!"

"Don't you even want to see how it ends?"

"I told you I was busy," Kenny said as an excuse, hurrying off with Ray before Tyson could convince him to stay. Once they had made a clean escape, Kai figured there was no need for him to stick around. There probably wouldn't be any more noise, at least until Tyson and Max got bored and started trying to scare each other on purpose.

Just when Kai was turning to leave, Max sat up and leaned over the back of the couch after him.

"Did you come to watch the movie with us? You haven't missed much."

Kai glanced back at the screen where the movie was continuing, half-ignored when there was better entertainment to be had. There was an old woman muttering to herself over something Kai supposed was meant to be a voodoo doll. He didn't see what Max found so interesting that he had to keep extending offers for Kai to join them.

"It's supposed to be about this vengeful ghost that possesses people and makes them attack each other," Max supplied helpfully. His blush had mostly faded as he looked at Kai with an encouraging expression that said he thought this was a ringing endorsement. As far as Kai was concerned, this was far worse than their usual fare.

"No thanks."

"Tell the Chief I take it back, you're a way bigger chicken than him if you won't even try to watch it," Tyson called after him, which Kai ignored.

On his way back Kai glanced into Ray's room. Ray now had his towel draped over his shoulders while his feet and chest remained bare. His damp hair hung loose, and even his eyes were half-hidden by his bangs. He held Driger casually in one hand, his body inclined towards Kenny in a posture that said he was more protective of the smaller boy than of his own beyblade.

At least Kenny looked calm now, back in his element with his computer open and something supposedly productive to do. It was a good thing Ray had taken charge of that, Kai thought privately. At least he had the patience to keep Kenny talking about weight ratios and aerodynamics until whatever had scared him was banished completely from his head.

Kai fully intended to ignore the movie after that, no matter how loud the other two got, but he kept finding reasons to go back.

After Max had told him what the movie was supposed to be about, Kai kept expecting it to stir up unpleasant memories. Being literally possessed by a ghost seemed unbelievably over-the-top compared to the real madness he had seen Wyatt suffering, but now that the idea was in his head Kai couldn't seem to let it go.

Actual possession should have been too farfetched of a theory, but it nagged at him. He still didn't know exactly what had happened to Wyatt after using the incomplete cyber bitbeast team Psykick had given him. He had only seen Wyatt driven into a helplessly violent sort of madness. And even when the beyblade responsible for it was taken away from him what should have been temporary insanity hadn't disappeared so easily. Some lasting damage had been done, and Kai still didn't know the real cause.

In the movie each possessed person would rave dramatically or become deadly mute. None of it truly matched the image in his mind, yet every scene he caught made Kai feel cold in the pit of his stomach. He kept waiting to hear Wyatt's laugh, or see that frightened hysterical face superimposed over the people he was watching. No matter how many times his own morbid curiosity prompted him to look, he only saw actors on a screen.

He couldn't have said if it was curiosity or guilt that made him watch from the doorway. He would stay until Max perked up and turned to look over the back of the couch at him, perhaps seeing his reflection in the dark screen or somehow hearing him over the movie. Each time Max moved to look around at him Kai promptly left.

The end was utterly predictable. When the final two survivors had escaped one just had to make a quip about not feeling himself lately and proved he was the possessed party by killing off his friend. A calm possessed person was actually less unnerving than a manic one, Kai decided. Or at least it stirred up fewer bad memories.

"Hey, Kai?"

Max's head tilted slightly, looking away from the movie once again and seeking out Kai where he was leaning in the doorway.

"Huh? Kai's here?"

Not anymore. Kai had left the moment Max turned that curious gaze on him.

"Yeah. He kept coming in to watch a bunch of the movie."

Kai didn't care to hear the rest. He closed his bedroom door behind him this time, blocking out the noise.

* * *

He could see it coming for him, the shapeless cloud that should have been a black reflection of his own Dranzer. A sick parody of those beautiful, blazing wings flared out as if to mock him, dripping poisonous smoke instead of fire. It wouldn't take him unawares this time.

With nothing more than his beyblade, Kai would fight back. He stood ready, solid in his pose, waiting for it to come close enough to strike.

"Hey, Kai!"

The sudden interruption of a familiar voice didn't make Kai take his focus from his foe for an instant, though he could see from the corner of his eye as Tyson suddenly joined him. Tyson didn't even take time to ground himself before letting loose with his own beyblade, giving it a flying start with his own momentum.

"This monster thing is going down in one, right?" Tyson shouted over Dragoon's roar. His cocky attitude made a smile flicker across Kai's face for the barest second as he launched Dranzer. That confidence was contagious.

Their blades wove around each other for a moment, building up to a twin summon that towered in a whirlwind of fire over even the dark form that had stalked Kai for far too long. Their bitbeasts knew each other as well as they did, as teammates and rivals, and Kai didn't think anything could stand before their combined power.

The wind and fire passed right through the form of Black Dranzer, which dissipated like smoke only to re-form without a mark to show it had even been touched. Kai felt his own throat clench around a startled cry. There should at least have been an impact when their two bitbeasts collided with it.

"Come on, Dragoon! Blow that thing away!" Tyson was shouting at the top of his lungs.

With both Tyson's raw energy and Dranzer's flames feeding Dragoon, that should have happened. It should have been easy, to brush aside what looked like no more than a cloud of smoke. Yet it didn't happen. No matter how Dragoon grew, and the bitbeast continued to grow until the swirling winds were nearly strong enough to push both of them off of their feet, it made no difference to the advancing smoke.

It wasn't long before Kai found himself staring up into his own worst nightmare. Wings of black fire stretched to engulf him, and there was nothing to stand between him and it anymore. . .

If Tyson shouted his name at the end, Kai didn't hear it. The first brush of freezing fire on his face made him jerk himself awake.

Experience was finally teaching him to wake before it could swallow him completely. Kai lay frozen in place, staring up into the more ordinary blackness of his darkened room with his heart pounding in his ears and his breath coming in quick gasps as if he had been running hard.

It was only a dream. It was all in his head. So why couldn't he force back the monster that hovered over him? Shouldn't his own willpower be the strongest thing in his own dream?

Angry with himself more than anything, Kai roughly pushed back his covers and levered himself up out of bed, still breathing hard. He didn't even bother to turn on the light as he went to get himself a drink of water.

He thought he knew the training center well enough to go stalking through it in the dark, but managed to painfully prove himself wrong by stumbling over something left in the middle of the common room. Kai hissed in pain and rubbed at his hurt foot, silently cursing whoever had left their things scattered on the floor.

The noise he made was answered by an strangled squeak. Kai paused, listening for the source of the strange noise. Was that the building settling? A rusty hinge? Or was there someone else up creeping around in the dark?

When Kai held his breath he could hear what sounded like someone trying to breathe very, very quietly. If not for the sound before he wouldn't have even noticed it.

Orienting towards the faint noise, Kai moved as silently as he could toward the source, eyes wide as he tried to make them adjust to the dark. He could just barely pick out a shadowy shape in front of him where the couch should be.

Kai braced both hands on the back of the couch and leaned over it to look for a sleeping form, even though he probably wouldn't be able to tell who it was in the dark.

The minute he tried to peer over there was a loud, wordless yell, and Kai caught a pillow to the face, making him stumble back.

"Max!" Kai recognized that voice, even made shrill with half-awake panic. "What was that for!?"

"Kai?" Max's voice came out as a squeak, before Kai heard the other boy swallow and continue "What are you doing creeping around in the dark?"

"What are you doing sleeping out here?"

"Um. . ." Max didn't seem to have an answer for that.

Kai shook his head, though he knew Max couldn't see the gesture. "Never mind. You can sleep where you like."

Kai started to move away towards the kitchen when Max called out behind him, voice almost too faint to hear.

"Kai? Could you turn on the light?"

Kai looked back, but of course it was too dark to see Max. He sighed in frustration and continued his careful way towards the edge of the room, but once he found the wall he did feel for the light switch and flick it on for Max.

Trying to force his eyes to adjust, Kai turned back to get a better look at Max. The other boy was sitting up, his knees pulled up to his chin. He was squinting in the sudden light, but it was plain to see that he was still uneasy. Well, Kai had just snuck up on him in the dark.

"So you couldn't sleep either?" Kai managed, echoing the words Max had said to him only a few nights ago.

"Not really."

Max's eyes were still fixed on him, slowly adapting to the light so that he stopped squinting. Kai wasn't sure he liked the look on Max's face right then, every hint of it open and hopeful. Kai did not like that look because he knew it meant Max wanted company, and he was the only candidate right now. How he could look so trusting when Kai had just scared him, even unintentionally, Kai didn't know.

"Since you're awake too, can we talk for a little bit?" Max wanted to know.

Kai turned without a word and tried not to storm into the kitchen. So Max could ask him for a favor that easily? It irritated him only because he had found himself unable to voice a similar request himself. Not that Max would know any better, but it still grated.

It was impossible to maintain any real level of anger, Kai quickly realized. By the time he'd filled a glass with cold water all of the irritation he'd felt had drained right out of him. It wasn't like he would be going back to sleep, anyway.

When Kai slipped back into the common room Max was curled up miserably, not even looking up at him. Kai ignored that defeated posture and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

Startled, Max looked up at him and blinked a few times with an air of innocent confusion that almost made Kai want to smirk. He wasn't that heartless. At least, not today. Not even when it came to Max looking at him as if he could effortlessly make everything right.

"So talk," Kai suggested. He took a sip of his water, waiting.

Max quickly adjusted to the idea that Kai was actually here to help him, rather than abandoning him. He uncurled a little from his miserable ball, but not enough to bring him into Kai's personal space.

"I kinda had a bad dream," Max confessed in embarrassment.

Kai couldn't help a quip of, "You shouldn't watch movies that give you nightmares."

"Well how can I know what movie is gonna give me nightmares until I watch it?"

Fair point. Kai let Max have that one.

"So what was it? Some ghost sneaking up on you in the dark?" Kai asked, acknowledging that his own behavior probably hadn't helped.

"No, nothing like that." Max was suddenly staring at his knees again, picking invisible bits of lint from his pajama pants. "It's just. . . You know what that movie was about? You saw some of it, right? I guess it's something that's not that scary until you really think about it."

Kai was silent, giving Max a chance to get around to spilling his guts on his own time. He was pretty sure it wouldn't take too long, after all.

"It's scary. . . the thought of not being able to control yourself, and hurting people you really care about. Even the people you would never, ever hurt on purpose. And it's possible isn't it? We saw it, with what happened to team Psykick. And it's so much worse because you know it's possible." Max's voice got softer and softer as he spoke, until Kai had to strain his ears to hear the last words.

Kai didn't want to hear those words, any of them. They made his heart give a sickening clench, thinking once again of Wyatt. He didn't need the confirmation that Max had been reminded of the same things he had. He wanted to be angry with Max for pulling that wound open again. He wanted to hate Max for it, especially when he continued with a whisper.

"I'm just really scared of that happening to me. Or to any of us, really. I don't want. . . Kai?"

Kai could feel Max looking at him, but he would not meet that pleading gaze.

"If that ever happens to me, can you promise you'll stop me? Before anyone gets hurt?"

The sick feeling in the bottom of his stomach was back. How could Max. . . how _dare _he. . . Kai had no words except a flat, "No."

"But-"

"No. I can't promise you anything."

When he lifted his head and tried to glare Max into silence, he found Max staring at him as if he'd had his trust broken, and he had no right. No right to act as if Kai should be able to help. No right to turn those hurt eyes on Kai for not reassuring him.

"I. . . But I helped stop you when you went too far! I know you could stop me in a second, if you don't just give up on me!" Max blurted out, and his misplaced trust stung worse than any accusation.

Oh yes, Kai remembered Max leaping in like a bloody-minded paratrooper to stop him when he'd gone too far with Black Dranzer. He knew what Max would do for him, but that didn't mean he could do the same.

"I couldn't even help Wyatt when he was right in front of me. What makes you think I could save you?"

"But you. . . Oh." The color left Max's face, leaving his freckles to stand out stark on his skin. "No, I didn't mean-"

Kai stood up abruptly, wanting to leave this conversation behind, but Max bolted up after him, catching at the back of his shirt.

"I'm sorry! I should have known better than to bring it up!"

Kai jerked away from Max's hand, turning to snap at him, only to stop when Max flinched before he could say a word. Kai forced himself to take a deep breath and let it out again. Venting at Max wouldn't actually make him feel better, and would go a long way towards making Max feel worse.

"Pay attention, because I am only going to say this once."

It wasn't necessary for him to say that. Max's attention was already riveted on him.

"I don't want you to go through what Wyatt did. Not any of you, ever," Kai clarified, because he was sure Max had been thinking about the entire team, not just the two of them. "I would do anything in my power to stop that from happening to you, but I can't promise it will be enough."

"Thank you," Max managed in a hoarse voice. The next thing Kai knew Max was hugging him, and he froze, his first instinct to just shove Max away. "That's all I wanted, Kai, thank you. I promise, I'll do the same for you. I'll never give up on you!"

"Let go of me."

"Sorry!" Max backed off quickly. He must be feeling better, even looking sheepish about the unnecessary hug. Kai wondered why he had bothered worrying about Max in the first place.

Kai didn't answer, and Max smiled at him, warm and reassuring as ever.

"I really am grateful," Max repeated. "I. . . Is there anything I can do for you? You couldn't sleep either, right?"

"I don't need anything," Kai lied. There was no way he would bring up his own dream. Let Max take what little comfort Kai had to spare, but he could keep his curiosity to himself. "I was just up for a glass of water."

Besides, Kai had gotten the distraction he needed. Even if he ended up sharing whatever ghostly nightmares Max had gotten from the movie, they would be preferable to facing another round with his personal demons.


	7. Chapter 7

Whew! I'm home again, and I come with a new chapter. Thanks to everyone who has kept reading this fic, and especially if you've taken the time to review! Knowing you guys are still enjoying the fic makes me want to give you the best chapters I possibly can! Many thanks as always to my lovely beta reader, slr2moons, and to the wonderful RK who has been my patient sounding board!

This next chapter has some spoilers for V-force (up to episode 27, as I mentioned before). I have tried to write it so everything will still make sense, even if you haven't watched the second season or don't remember the it very well.

As always, I hope you will enjoy!

* * *

As far as Max was concerned, challenging Tyson and Ray on the obstacle course was a much better way to wake up than with the morning training program Kenny kept them to. He wasn't about to abandon that since it made them all stronger, but it was so much more entertaining to compete, taking turns encouraging and making fun of each other.

Max was nearly incapacitated with laughter after getting Draciel stuck in a long groove in one of Tyson's boards. The blade kept spinning up and down as if stuck on a track. When he was finally able to catch his breath and straighten up he realized Kai was lurking around behind them, watching.

"Hey, Kai! Come on and join us!" Max called, waving enthusiastically. On the obstacle course it was the more the merrier.

Kai didn't give him more than a glance, and Max couldn't help feeling a little disappointed at his disinterest. He was so sure it would be even better to have Kai join them too.

"Is something up with you and Kai?"

Max retrieved Draciel and paused to look over at Ray in confusion. "No, I've been getting along fine with Kai."

"That's what I meant. He's getting pretty anti-social with the rest of us, going off on his own all the time."

"I haven't noticed any difference," Tyson chimed in.

Ray shook his head, his beyblade getting into a friendly clash with Tyson's in the middle of the target range Kai had set up. Max watched the tussle for a moment, thinking.

"I haven't really noticed a difference, either," Max admitted.

"Of course you haven't. You're the only one he spends any more time with than he has to."

That might be true. He did keep inviting Kai to join them, and he had followed on a few of Kai's usually solitary walks, but that was just because he liked being around Kai. Was Ray trying to imply that Max was hogging their team captain, or that he thought Kai needed the company?

"So should I leave him alone for a bit?" Max asked, launching Draciel again to chase Driger on a zig-zag path through the course. Ray did usually have a strong sense of what needed to be done, and Max trusted that he would somehow know the answers to the questions he had raised.

"Keep hanging out with him. It seems to put him in a better mood, if nothing else."

Max couldn't help the slightly giddy feeling welling up inside of him upon hearing that. Spending time with Kai, whether they were practicing or talking or sometimes just together in silence, often left him feeling cheerful. Max suddenly wanted to return the favor.

All through their warm-up and cardiovascular exercises (or more accurately, jogging through the empty center on what felt like an umpteen laps) Max kept glancing back at Kai and then away, smiling to himself. He would try not to push Kai to be friendly, because Kai hated being pushed, but Max decided that he would give Kai endless offers to have fun together. Kai would have as many chances as he could possibly manufacture.

His exuberant mood lasted right up until they got into the one part of the exercise regimen that Max truly disliked. Everything else had gotten easier for Max with practice, but not the sit-ups. Just when he thought he was getting the hang of it, Kenny had to go and decide it was time to ramp up their training regimen. Max didn't think he would ever catch up.

It was even more frustrating to feel like he was lagging behind on something that didn't make Kai break a sweat. Max couldn't stop glancing over at where Kai was working out. It was too compelling a distraction, and without realizing it he ended up lying still to watch.

Kai's face was completely impassive. Max hadn't expected Kai to feel any strain, let alone show it, and his attention didn't linger there long. Through that skin-tight shirt he could see Kai's muscles tense with each sit-up.

"Are you okay?"

Max jerked his attention away from Kai to look sheepishly up at Ray, who was holding his feet. He hadn't meant to stare at Kai long enough to get caught at it.

"I'm fine! I was just resting for a minute," Max invented, trying to pretend he hadn't been distracted by Kai's abs.

He tried to put his nervous energy into the exercise, feeling his face burn thanks to Ray's amusement. Before he had managed to do more than a couple of sit-ups he was interrupted.

"I'll take him," Kai offered.

Max paused at the unexpected interruption, but Ray relinquished his grip and moved aside with nothing more than a knowing look.

Max had wanted to spend more time with Kai, but not necessarily this time. He would rather not have Kai cooly watch him make a fool of himself. Max decided he would have to try and get through his set as quickly as possible.

"You're doing it wrong. You're going to strain your neck."

Before Max could figure out what was wrong, Kai had let go of his feet and shifted to his side. Max froze, keeping his eyes fixed on Kai with no idea what he was meant to do. Was he supposed to keep going without anyone anchoring him?

"Cross your arms over your chest," Kai instructed. Max took his hands from behind his head and did as he was told, looking silently to Kai for approval. "Focus on working the muscles right here."

Max tensed everything in an instant of surprise. Kai had put one hand on him to illustrate which muscles he meant. It was such a small thing, but the feeling of Kai's hand rubbing subtly over his stomach set his heart hammering with nervousness. Kai's palm was so warm through his thin shirt that it made Max slowly relax under the touch.

Kai took his silence for understanding or agreement, because he didn't give Max any further instructions. He simply moved to ground Max with a firm grip on his ankles and wait for him to begin.

"Okay," Max let out a soft breath. He could do this. He had to do this. Kai expected him to do this.

On his first sit-up, Max found himself looking directly into Kai's face. For half a breath he was caught in Kai's intense gaze before he remembered to continue.

The feeling of Kai's grip on his ankles was like an extra reservoir of strength. Getting to see Kai's eyes focused on him each time he made it up was Max's selfish little reward. He'd always avoided partnering with Kai for this exercise, afraid he would make a fool of himself, but now Max at least found a reason to keep going steadily. He completely forgot how many sit-ups were left in his set, losing count in Kai's eyes.

He didn't know how much later it was that his muscles started to ache, seeming too tight to pull him up even halfway. Max lay back and panted for a few seconds, feeling the muscles twinge as they were finally allowed to relax.

"I can't do any more. . ." Max groaned.

"That's fine. You did sixty-four."

"What? Why didn't you tell me I was done?" That gave Max the strength to sit up again, utterly indignant.

"Because I knew you could do more."

Kai's hands had left his ankles, and Max missed their tight grip as soon as they were gone. He suddenly realized he would have asked to keep going even if Kai had reminded him to stop, if only to meet Kai's eyes as a reward for each sit-up.

"I could probably get up to seventy," Max suggested. Even that would be a small sacrifice to be this close to Kai for another minute or two.

"No, just cool down now."

"But-"

"Your face is all red."

Max could feel his face burning, but he hadn't made the mental jump to his blush being visible to Kai until he heard that. Realizing Kai could see his embarrassment only made his face grow hotter.

"I. . . I'm gonna go get some water," Max managed, scrambling to his feet.

Kai left him alone when he bolted, which was all at once a blessing and a disappointment. Max wanted attention from Kai almost more than he wanted a second alone to compose himself.

Splashing cold water on his face, Max tried to calm down. His heart was pounding far too hard for just the short dash to the bathroom. Stupid Kai, making him lose his cool like that.

He knew Kai hadn't actually done anything to warrant his reaction. He had realized after Ray brought it up that he wanted to be around the usually anti-social blader, but when Kai was near him he couldn't help getting excited and nervous. There was no reason for him to feel that way, was there? It didn't make any sense. It was insanity!

It was like looking three seats over at the cutest girl in class chewing on her pen and realizing he wanted to ask her out.

Max stuck his whole head into the sink to douse himself with cold water. He intended to wash that thought right out of his head, but instead the cold seemed to bring things into focus.

He'd felt close to Kai for a long time. He could say he liked Kai, but 'like' wasn't nearly a strong enough word for the comradery he felt with any of his teammates. It would never be adequate for what he felt for Kai. That was admiration and devotion, sincere trust and a desire to offer support. In short, Max adored his team captain.

And it hadn't escaped his notice that Kai was hot. How could he not notice the confidence and intensity in the way Kai carried himself? How could he not be fascinated by the subtle shift of Kai's expressions?

Up until now Max had taken those feelings for granted. There hadn't been much time or incentive to stop and analyze what he felt for Kai. He had simply acted according to his crush and never truly questioned it. Now he realized he liked Kai in a way he had never intended.

Max pulled his head out of the sink and shook out his hair, splattering water everywhere. He turned off the faucet and stayed still for a few slow breaths, sorting out his thoughts.

"I like Kai," Max whispered to himself. The words felt comfortable to him, and oddly simple. He'd had crushes on girls before, Max argued with himself. Shouldn't that mean he wouldn't be interested in Kai the same way? But there was no denying he found Kai attractive.

He liked Kai. Of course he liked Kai. They were friends, so it followed naturally that he would like Kai. But this wasn't the same as what he felt for his other friends. He didn't just want to see Kai happy, he wanted to be the one to please Kai. He wanted to hug Kai, to cuddle up together if Kai would ever let him. He wanted Kai to feel the same way about him.

A few more deep breaths and Max was actually calm. He tried to be honest with himself, and the realization felt natural to him. The feeling might have been lingering in the back of his mind for a long time, waiting to be acknowledged.

Max cleaned up most of the water he had splashed around, humming to himself as he did. The thought of going out again and facing Kai made his heart flutter, but in a good way, all joy and excitement.

It finally occurred to him to wonder if Kai might ever like him in return, and Max was forced to stop and splash more water on his face to cool his renewed blush.

* * *

The small hours of the morning were the only time Kai could make the call. With his teammates out of the way there was no one who would know, and it wasn't like he could sleep undisturbed through the night these days. Something about the dark and silence that permeated the usually hectic atmosphere of the training center made it possible to finally pick up the phone.

He didn't know if it was made easier or harder by the fact that his name and voice were immediately recognized by the person on the other end. Logistically it was easier. It was less trouble now that he was a footnote in their files and he didn't have to explain himself every time. Even after establishing that he had permission there was a little guilty part of him that balked at the cheerful voice greeting him. Everyone who was there to answer the phone this early seemed to know him, and they always had to act like they were glad to get his call.

"He should be finishing breakfast now, let me put you on hold for a second and we'll transfer you over."

The minutes he spent on hold were too long when he had only one thing to think about. Being given time to dwell only made it harder to even try to speak to the person he was waiting for, but Kai hadn't hung up yet.

"Kai?" The voice that finally greeted him was soft, almost disbelieving that it would be him. It always made Kai glad that he had stayed on the line.

"Hi, Wyatt."

The other boy's voice was always so quiet, Kai could hardly hear him. Not that either of them had much to talk about. Kai made a point not to discuss beyblading, or by extension his teammates or the training that was taking up most of his life. He couldn't ask about how Wyatt was doing, not any of the obvious questions. He usually let Wyatt talk, and it was mostly about how he wanted to get back to school. Kai always thought that desire was less about going to school and more about getting out of the hospital, but he didn't call Wyatt on it.

Kai had asked the nurses some of the things he couldn't ask Wyatt, but didn't know how much to believe. The official story was that his wounds were all healing neatly, and so Wyatt was stable, both physically and mentally. Keeping a watch on him was just a precaution. He would be sent home before they knew it. He was fine.

The voice Kai was hearing did not sound 'fine.' It didn't sound like Wyatt. It was his voice, but lacking all of the energy he'd had when Kai had first met him. Kai didn't know what scars Wyatt had endured from his encounter with the cyber bitbeast, but he could tell some of them remained.

Kai hadn't even been there when Wyatt had snapped. He had thought Wyatt had calmed down and let himself be removed from the other boy's side. He hadn't been there to stop Wyatt from deciding that bitbeast was still in his head and taking drastic measures to get rid of it. Kai could only think how if he'd been there then, Wyatt wouldn't be where he was now. Kai had no doubt of his own guilt.

"You are going back to school, right, Kai? I can see you there when I get back?"

Kai snapped out of his thoughts at the question. He actually didn't know if he'd ever return to the boarding school where they'd met. The school itself held nothing of importance for him. Besides, now that the team was together again Kai was pretty sure they would at least make it to the next world championship and defend their title.

"I don't think I'll be going back, but I'll be sure to see you when you get out."

Wyatt was silent for a minute, and Kai wondered what he wasn't saying. He'd figured out that Wyatt didn't have a private place to talk on the phone. If he had any lingering paranoias he wasn't voicing at least that meant he was sane enough to avoid saying things that would call his sanity into question, but it seemed to leave him with no one to confide in. Kai had no way to know if Wyatt still thought that cyber bitbeast was lurking around inside his own head, or if he was too horrified to ever pick up a beyblade again as long as he lived.

"Why do you keep calling me?"

It was a question Kai had expected to hear a long time ago, and one he was actually ready for. "Because I'm too far away to visit you right now."

Kai thought he head a thump from another part of the center, but he ignored it. He was used to hearing faint noises at night, and had given up trying to track them down. Besides, the hurt, skeptical noise Wyatt had just made in his ear was a lot more important.

"I'm serious," Kai insisted. "The people who used you. . . We shut them down."

He hadn't meant to say it, but in the middle of the night it was far too easy to let slip something he never meant to say. He hadn't said a word about it since team Psykick's battle tower went down. Kai was afraid of reminding Wyatt of everything that had driven him to that moment of madness once before, afraid it would set him off again. Wondering if Wyatt could be stuck in that ward indefinitely if no one believed he was healing had made Kai unwilling to bring up anything that might unbalance him for even a moment.

Instead of reacting as Kai had feared, Wyatt let out a weak little laugh. He sounded faintly relieved. "Really, Kai? I. . . I should have known you could do anything."

Kai frowned at the phone, though Wyatt couldn't see it. The last thing either of them needed was for Wyatt to idolize him even more. Look at where that had gotten them.

"I think I'll at least sleep better knowing that," Wyatt told him. That was far better thanks than when he actually said the words.

"Kai?" Came a second soft voice behind him.

Kai whipped around in surprise to find Max standing behind him, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn't supposed to be awake now. None of them were.

"Kai?" Wyatt's call in his ear went unanswered.

"I was gonna call Mom. . . Are you already on the phone with someone? I can wait."

Max plunked himself down on the sofa next to Kai, letting his head rest on the armrest. He still looked half-asleep. Kai could only stare at him. How could Max keep being around whenever he was up in the middle of the night? Was he doing this on purpose?

When Wyatt's voice finally broke through and Kai realized the other boy was wondering why he'd gone silent, Kai couldn't concentrate well enough to even try to reassure him properly.

"Sorry. Someone else here needs to use the phone. Will you be okay?"

He heard a little noise that could have almost been a laugh.

"That's the first time I've heard that from you."

"What?"

"Everyone asks me that all the time, but that's the first time I've heard it from you. It's funny, isn't it?"

"Wyatt," Kai said sternly, cutting him off before he could get any more derailed by whatever he was going on about. "Just tell me yes or no. Do you want me to hang up?"

"I'm okay," was the answer he got after a few seconds of silence that might have been Wyatt thinking. "I'm a lot better than I was before you called."

He still didn't sound okay, but Kai grabbed at that little thread of hope with both hands. Taking down team Psykick hadn't fixed Wyatt, and Kai had felt useless afterward. He would take any hint that fighting that organization had actually helped in some way.

"Take care of yourself," Wyatt told him. "Especially if you're still out saving the world, or whatever it is you're up to."

"Same to you."

By the time Kai finished his goodbyes and hung up, Max seemed to have dozed off beside him. At least his head was down against the armrest and his eyes were closed.

"What did you want?"

Max jumped and shook his head before blinking sleepily at Kai.

"Wha? Weren't you on the phone?"

Kai held the cordless handset out silently. Max stared at it for a second, apparently too sleep-muddled to process that Kai was offering it to him.

"I didn't wanna interrupt when-" Max interrupted himself with a yawn. He still hadn't taken the phone. "Weren't you talking to Wyatt? 'Zat what you're always up in the middle of the night for?"

Kai was about to deny it, but he realized he'd said Wyatt's name with Max sitting right there. He settled for dropping the handset in Max's lap as a hint to do what he wanted and leave Kai alone.

"Is he okay?" Max asked. "We were worried, but you were so angry about what happened to him I was afraid to ask. He must have recovered after a while like everyone on Kain's team, right?"

"No," Kai snapped.

"But-"

"They think he tried to kill himself. As soon as I left him alone, he-" Kai gritted his teeth around the words. He hadn't been there. He had only seen the damage after Wyatt had been stitched up and bandaged and sanitized for visitors. He only had hints of what had really happened.

"But you don't think so." Max murmured. It should have been a question, but it didn't sound like one. Max's voice was still faintly rough with sleep, but his tone was low and gentle, as if to say he would believe whatever Kai believed. That soothing tone loosened Kai's tongue. In the back of his mind he was sure Max would somehow understand the painful helplessness gnawing at him.

"He told me that thing was still in his head. He was trying to get it out." Kai believed it, not that it was any better than thinking Wyatt had spontaneously tried to kill himself for no reason. If that thing had really possessed Wyatt, Kai was sure it wouldn't be banished so easily. If it had driven him mad, that was no better.

Max made a little noise of agreement and encouragement, and Kai put his head in his hands. Max believed him too, but what good did that do anyone? Max had thought he would recover just because the others had.

Kai choked on the bitter shadow of a laugh. "But now we know, don't we? If he'd had even a little support he would have recovered like everyone else. But I didn't do a thing for him before or after. I could have prevented the whole thing before he ever picked up that beyblade, and I just-"

"Stop it!"

Kai was shocked dumb, not by Max yelling at him, but by the sudden feeling of Max's arms around him. He stared, uncomprehending, at the phone, now lying on the floor by his feet. He hadn't heard it fall. He hadn't seen Max move.

"None of that is your fault! You didn't take advantage of him, or give him that stupid fake bitbeast, or try to hurt him. There's no way you could have known any of it would happen."

Kai sucked in an angry breath through his teeth. He never would have let half of that confession slip out if not for the stillness and the late hour and Max sounding so sleepy and receptive. How dare Max try to turn it around on him now?

"Don't hiss at me. You never hesitate to tell us when we're being stupid about something, and it's time someone returned the favor." Max's knuckles were rubbing soothingly up and down between Kai's shoulder blades. Even if his words were sharp-edged his tone was just as kind as it had been before. "You never wanted him hurt, right? I know you didn't. You couldn't have known what would happen, and now you're trying to help him. And you did everything you could to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else ever again. You've been doing everything you can. You can't take the blame for that."

Kai wanted to believe every word of it. He wanted to press his face against Max's narrow shoulder and listen to those reassurances that he'd done everything he could, and that his stumbling efforts would somehow be enough. More than anything, he wanted Max to be right.

But no matter how tempting it was, he couldn't just ignore the result of his own mistakes.

"Let go of me."

Max's hand stopped rubbing his back and lingered there for a moment before deserting him. As soon as Max released him, Kai got to his feet, trying to distance himself from that comforting touch as quickly as possible.

"How can I help?"

"Leave me alone. It's none of your business."

"Yes it is. If it's your business that Wyatt's hurt, then it's my business that you're hurt."

"I'm not hurt."

"Kai," Max pleaded.

"Drop it." Kai refused to let himself listen anymore. He left the room with his back straight, escaping the undeserved sympathy in that voice. Max didn't follow him.

Trying to sleep was pure folly. Kai knew his mind wouldn't settle even before he turned out the lights and lay down. He could see Wyatt's panicked face behind his closed eyes, could hear Max telling him 'it's not your fault' through the silence. Max wouldn't be so sure Kai wasn't at fault if _he_ had been the one to be used as a mere tool and tossed aside once he lost his mind.

The image his mind supplied for him of Max in Wyatt's place, manic and terrified all at once. . . sporting stitches and bandages on self-inflicted wounds. . . .

Kai sat bolt upright and dug the heels of his hands into his closed eyes until he saw sparks, as if he could physically force the image out of his brain.

That would never happen to Max, ever. Max had people far more reliable than Kai in his life. The thought that he would never let it happen to Max teased at him, and Kai refused to linger on it even though he knew it was true.

Just as Kai had made himself lay down again and was trying to push all thought of Max out of his head, he heard a familiar voice from his doorway.

"Are you asleep?" Max whispered.

Kai could have let it go unanswered. He could have let Max leave and pretend in the morning that nothing had happened.

"I thought you had a phone call to make."

"I already finished. Well. . . actually my mom told me to go to bed when she realized what time it is here. I wanted to see if you were okay." Max paused and there was a stiff silence between them as Kai refused to answer. "If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I promise I won't bring it up in the morning if you want to be private about it."

"That's good enough."

"What's. . . ? I don't understand. Can't I do anything?"

"You're not going to fix what happened to Wyatt by telling me that everything is okay," Kai pointed out stiffly. He cut Max off before he could make more than an inarticulate noise of protest. "Just forget about it. You can't fix this."

Max was silent for a minute and then, to Kai's relief, he whispered a defeated, "Goodnight, Kai."

There was no reason to expect sleep to come, and even less to expect that it would give him any true measure of rest. Kai could only sleep in fitful spurts, his usual night terrors replaced by shallow dreams that left him feeling disquieted and unrested. Whether it was his guilt or his exhaustion, Kai felt as if a weight was bearing down on him.

Morning caught Kai with a groggy mind and an aching head after his uncomfortable night. He was already used to starting the day in this state, so that it almost didn't seem to matter.

Usually Kai would be alone until the others dragged themselves out of bed for their morning training. Today they were off to visit the new BBA training center, and everyone had to be ready early. The trip was theoretically to get some practice against new opponents, but Kai thought the real value was getting them out of there for a day.

Max looked almost as tired as he felt. That wasn't too unexpected, but when Kai took a second look he realized the way Max was drooping over his breakfast wasn't just a half-awake stupor. Max looked deeply unhappy. Where his eyes would have normally been glazed with sleep, or wide open as he tried to wake himself up, now they stayed fixed miserably downward.

Was Max nursing some kind of hurt because Kai hadn't let himself be comforted last night? Kai might have liked to be annoyed by the idea, but he wasn't eager to shoulder responsibility for hurting Max on top of everything else.

Kai made a point to approach Max. He leaned one hand on the table, nearly putting his hand on top of Max's to get his attention, since that was where Max's eyes were fixed. He let Max slowly look up to acknowledge his presence.

It wasn't until after Max's eyes were on him that he realized he had no idea what to say. "Are you all right?" he offered. He felt the warmth of Max's hand at his fingertips, but ignored the accidental touch.

Max's face seemed a little flushed, so maybe he was feeling sick rather than upset. Kai bent a little closer, raising his hand to check for fever.

"Fine!" Max suddenly blurted out with a sort of panicked energy that startled Kai. "I'm very fine! I'll finish getting ready!"

Max practically leapt up out of his seat and bolted. Kai knew better to follow. He had wondered how Max had been affected, and there was his answer. Apparently Max didn't even want to be in the same room with him.

That should have been fine. It should have been easier than trying to explain himself to Max. Honestly, Kai had no idea why he spent a few seconds wanting to follow Max and make things right rather than silently letting him go. Soon enough everything would be back to normal, wouldn't it?


	8. Chapter 8

Hello again, and welcome to another chapter! I hope everyone is still enjoying the story! I'm finally working on outlining some later events, so hopefully I can keep from stalling this fic partway through. I hope you will all enjoy as the plot thickens.

Random notes: I'm worried this is confusing. In my head the beyblade is probably an "it", but wouldn't the bitbeast be "s/he"? Since they have the same name I've been trying to be clear when the bitbeast is out or not. I hope that helps a little. (If I was smarter I would have varied the capitalization or something, but it's a little late now.)

And because I am bad at judging how obscure my vocabulary is: A 'stoop' is the high-speed dive and strike that many birds of prey use while hunting.

Thanks as always to the brilliant slr2moons for doing a wonderful beta job on this fic an helping me polish it up. Thank you also to my darling RK who has been endlessly patient as I try to untangle my plotlines for part two.

* * *

Life at the training center had become more than a little confusing for Max. Getting away for a couple of days should have been just what he needed. As long as he was with Kai, the epicenter of his confusion, Max didn't think he would have much luck relaxing.

The realization that his feelings for Kai had crept past beloved friend to something a little closer to outright _beloved_ was enough of a jolt. When it was followed in less than twenty-four hours with the realization that Kai might not even like him as a friend. . . Max could barely look his team captain in the face the next morning.

Kai had supported him, true, but wasn't that just his sense of duty to the team at work? Max wondered now if he had just been taking advantage of that, reading too much into those platonic gestures. Last night Kai had made it plain he couldn't even accept sympathy from Max. If he didn't want that, how could he want affection? Max didn't think Kai was actively angry with him anymore, but he didn't know how to return to normalcy yet.

Maybe Kai was just sick of him, since he was always trying to stay close. With a little distance things could just go back to the way they were before, right? Max was determined to let Kai alone for a little while. He willed himself to listen to Kenny's information on the training center they were visiting, even if the words went in one ear and out the other. It gave him something to focus on so he wouldn't look around at Kai.

The place they were staying was so old and out-of-the-way that the BBA was considering demolishing the whole thing in a few months anyway. Max was eager to see the new center, which would be full of other bladers. It wasn't an environment he got to be in very often, and he wanted to see if it was different from the common training areas in the research labs where his mom had worked.

They got an enthusiastic welcome when they arrived, which he should have expected but didn't think about. When they stepped off the bus it was to a storm of cheers and questions and requests for a demonstration, and even a few shouted challenges. Max noticed some familiar faces in the crowd, but he lost track of them before he could even wave.

Max and Ray each kept a hand on one of Kenny's arms to keep him from getting swept away from the rest of the team. Most of the crowd had concentrated around Kai and Tyson, especially when Tyson theatrically challenged Kai to a match to give their fans a treat. Max couldn't blame everyone for crowding around. Tyson was so energetic and got everyone's attention and Kai was. . . well, Kai. Besides, even he wanted to watch, and he was with them all the time.

When he got inside and took a step back, Max found the crowd behind him had thinned enough that he could take a look around. Even with everyone gathering to watch Tyson and Kai's promised showdown, Ray seemed to have his own clump of admirers. Kenny quickly collected an impressive following who were obviously listening to him as he started to offer commentary on the match.

A hand on Max's arm made him start and turn around to find Kit had managed to get behind him. Max had thought he had glimpsed the Lightning Fangs when they first arrived, with Kit tall enough to pick out in the crowd until Max had been surrounded himself and lost track of them.

"Hey," Kit greeted. He released Max's arm and ran his hand through his dark hair instead, making the already-messy strands stand up so that the light caught purple highlights. He was dressed as casually as he had been when they first met, and Max noticed a chain strung between two of the piercings in his ear this time.

"Hi! I was hoping we'd run into you guys here," Max greeted brightly.

Kit bent a little closer to speak quietly to Max under the growing noise of excited fans. "Can I collect on that match you promised?"

"Right now?"

Max glanced at where the competition between Tyson and Kai was evolving from showy into serious. He was sure Kai was about to bring out Dranzer, and he wanted to see, but he had made a promise. Besides, how often did he get to play with someone outside of his team these days?

"Okay, sure," Max agreed, before Kit had to work to convince him.

"Come on. There are some private practice rooms on the second floor."

Kit easily picked his way through the crowd, glancing back every few steps to make sure he hadn't lost Max. With such a careful guide, Max had no trouble following him up to a wide catwalk that encircled three-fourths of the main room.

When they were directly across from Kai, Max thought he saw his team captain glance up. He gave a little wave to say, 'It's fine, don't mind me.' A second later he decided he'd probably only imagined getting a glimpse of Kai's attention. There was no reason Kai should look up from a match, after all.

The room Kit led him to wasn't even a tenth the size of the main training area below. Half a dozen beydishes were set up on either side of the room, with thin walls separating each to form two-person arenas. Max was impressed with the idea that you could have a moderately private match even in a huge public center like this one (at least without the special testing rooms his mom often worked in, which were more for concealing new technology than for the blader's convenience).

Kit must have noticed him looking around as he took his stance on the opposite side of the dish.

"You don't mind me taking you away from the rest of your adoring fans?"

Max just laughed. "With a show like that going on I doubt anyone'll notice I'm gone."

"You stand out more than you think, Max."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max wanted to know. Kit had been nice to him, so he didn't think it was an insult.

"Maybe I'll tell you if you beat me."

"Hey!" Almost laughing again at Kit's friendly baiting, Max clicked Draciel into place on his launcher. "Okay, you're on!"

Kit held up his own launcher, obviously ready. "I'm glad you're comfortable enough with me to accept my challenge. My Silnaja has been looking forward to meeting you."

"I'm always ready to beyblade!"

"That's good." Kit smirked at him across the dish. It was probably just because he was psyched up, but the look in his eye was almost predatory. "Right now I want you all to myself."

"I'm not going anywhere," Max answered, taking it as a challenge. He was in his element now.

"Then let's get this started!"

Max was more than ready. Their voices rang out in unison, "Three, two, one, let it rip!"

Keeping his wary attention on Silnaja as the purple-and-black beyblade moved to circle Draciel, Max made sure to dart quick looks at Kit's face in case he gave away when he intended to move. Max was quite happy to defend until he had some idea of what to expect from Kit's style.

When Silnaja struck it happened with blinding speed. The move Draciel made, half dodging and half deflecting the blow, was such a fast reflex Max hardly knew if he had willed it or if Draciel had moved on its own. If he hadn't spent so much time training with Ray, Max knew he would never have sharpened his reflexes well enough to react at all.

A series of lightning-quick attacks followed, but Max was ready for them this time. Draciel could dart away, just enough to deflect each hit, though if Max hadn't kept his weight disk heavy he was sure one of those glancing strikes would have flipped his blade. Kit wasn't coming at him straight-on, but twisting to one side or the other at the last second to land pinpoint-accurate blows at the worst possible angles for Max to dodge.

When not on the attack, Silnaja's movement appeared slow as it lazily traced patterns around the dish. There was hardly a flicker of movement to tell Max where or when it would strike next. It was exhilarating. This was new and exciting, with just that unique touch that made him happy to have found a new friend, or rival, or more likely both. He couldn't help grinning at the challenge.

"You're different from other bladers," Kit told him."I tried to tell myself you wouldn't be so special if I ever met you in person."

Max kept his attention on the match, even though he wanted to know what Kit was talking about. He was only glancing at Kit for some hint of his next move, but it seemed like Kit was more focused on him than Draciel.

"I'm glad I fell for you."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, giving Kit more than a quick glance in spite of his better judgement.

"I was in love with you from the first time I saw you."

"What?" Confusion drew Max's attention completely away from Draciel. He had to be misunderstanding something, or maybe he had heard wrong.

"I caught some of your matches in the American tournament, and I couldn't take my eyes off you the whole time. You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Don't you know how you look in the middle of a serious match?" Kit paused and made an amused noise through his nose, laughing at Max. "Of course, your stunned face is pretty cute too," he added.

Before he had even finished that last teasing jab his blade struck again, with Max so completely stunned he couldn't even see it coming. The next thing he knew Draciel was upside-down in the bottom of the dish, rocking helplessly like a turtle knocked back onto its shell.

Kit moved first, while Max was still too bewildered to do more than make little half-protests of 'what. . . you. . . but. . .' He lifted Draciel out of the dish, and actually took Max's hand in his own to press the blade into it. He closed Max's fingers around Draciel, but didn't release his hand.

"No hard feelings?"

"Wait, did you say that just to throw me off?"

"Heh," Kit actually sounded amused at that. "No, I'm serious. I was going to tell you after, but then you smiled at me like that, and, well. . . what else was I supposed to think about?"

Max jerked his hand out of Kit's grip and backed up a few steps, clutching Draciel to his chest as if Kit would try to snatch the blade away.

"Chill out! I'm not going to molest you or anything."

"You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious! I just told you, didn't I?"

Max felt as if his face was on fire. Since when did this sort of thing happen? Having someone declare they were a fan of his was unfamiliar enough. Having someone confess their love to him even more so, and on top of that Kit was a guy! One who didn't look the slightest bit like the vague mental blueprint of how Max might have expected a gay boy to look.

What was he supposed to do? Max felt rooted to the spot, convinced he should respond but without the slightest idea of how to do it.

The sound of Kit's blade finally running out of energy and winding down brought both of their attention back to the dish. Kit knelt to get the blade, weighing it in his hand as he gave Max another sideways glance. Max wished he knew what Kit was looking for.

"Let me explain. You. . . you really inspired me. I had hit a wall. I couldn't get myself to care about beyblading anymore and I was going to give up, before I saw you. And then I had to keep going until I was strong enough to face you, because you light up the stadium like no one else."

Kit shrugged and stood, slipping Silnaja into his pocket and leaving his hand there.

"Even if you weren't how I imagined, I gained a lot from the journey so I thought it'd be worth it no matter what happened. But now, meeting you, I know my first impression was right."

Max shook his head. To him it sounded a lot more like Kit wanted to meet him as a rival. He had recently become aware that love was insane, but Kit's declaration was even beyond that. They had barely met. They hadn't even finished their match before Kit blurted that out!

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I don't know," Max admitted. "I'm glad I could help you get back into beyblading, anyway."

Kit studied him in silence for a minute, the serious look in his eyes finally convincing Max that he wasn't teasing. No matter how strange those words felt, Max couldn't quite disbelieve it with Kit looking at him like that.

"Hey, when you've calmed down a little, do you want a rematch?"

"I could. . ." Max was about to protest that he was calm, but his hands were clenched around Draciel so hard they hurt.

Kit eased a little closer, his hand slipping out of his pocket and rising to curl around Max's hand. He made Max open his hand and stop digging Draciel's edges into his palm, but the touch did nothing to help him relax.

"And after that," he continued, "if you want to think seriously about what I said-"

"Before that, you're going to have to think seriously about a match with me."

Max whipped his head around to find Kai standing in front of their little alcove, not even a meter away. How long had he been listening? Max felt his face burn even worse than before, and quickly moved back so that Kit's hand was no longer on his.

"Oh really?" Kit answered cooly. "I don't have any particular interest in that. What's the occasion?"

"We're the only two who didn't meet during your team's challenge before."

"What, you want to complete the set? Fine. We can use the main training area." Kit crossed his arms, utterly nonchalant about the whole thing as he turned to address Max in a much kinder tone, "I'll see you later, right Max?"

"Okay," Max agreed automatically.

He would have tried to slip out the moment Kit left them alone, but found himself stopped by a look from Kai.

"Don't let yourself get distracted, no matter what your opponent says."

"You heard that? How long were you listening?"

Kai didn't answer. With his advice given, he simply turned to go until Max called after him.

"Wait, are you challenging him because you're mad? I was the one who let myself get distracted. You don't have to defend me or anything." Max toyed with the idea that Kai might be jealous, about someone distracting him from the spectacle of their opening match if nothing else, before discarding the idea as impossible.

"I wasn't aware you needed defending."

"Thanks, I think," Max laughed. Kai wasn't even defending him, so how could that reaction possibly be jealousy? "Um. . . but. . . were you listening the whole time?"

All he got for an answer was a nice, familiar view of Kai's back. Although there was a tiny part of Max that wanted to know what Kai thought, it was far too unnerving to ask again. It felt like Kai was doing him the favor of ignoring his embarrassment. Besides, Kai had no reason to care if someone else had expressed interest in Max. Obviously he was just irritated because Max had lost his head and his match in such quick succession.

Max had assumed Kai wouldn't even want to be around him after last night if given a choice. It was all Max could do to repress the warm feeling he got just because Kai had come to fetch him. He was so happy from such a small thing he could hardly bear it.

It was then Max decided that he had to tamp down his feelings for Kai somehow. He couldn't keep overreacting to the tiniest little gestures. There was too much danger of ruining the odd friendship he had with Kai now. That was far too precious to waste, particularly when he could already guess how Kai would react to what kept going through his head.

Having Kit come on to him had been enough of a surprise for Max, and he should have been prepared for the idea because of his own inappropriate crush. Kai had once mentioned that he didn't like anyone in that way, so wouldn't it be an even worse shock for him?

Kai would hate it. Kai might even hate him. Max would do anything to keep Kai from hating him.

* * *

Kai already hated him. It was a bad habit of his to develop a strong dislike of people from first impressions, but Kai was beyond caring if his impression was wrong. There was nothing that would convince him to play nice with the lanky, smirking teen in front of him.

Kit had grated on him from the start. His attitude was one of casual self-confidence, which wasn't in itself a problem, even if Kai found it irritating. Kai didn't think he could ever explain what was really bothering him to any of his teammates, especially not Max. Kit was the sort of person who would use any means available to him to reach a goal, something Kai recognized because he was exactly the same way.

That was a good enough reason for Kai to keep a wary eye on him, but Kit's behavior had put him on the defensive in a way few people managed. Kai could only guess that Kit was singling out Max as a weak link he could destabilize. It was enough to know that Kit kept trying to separate Max from the rest of the team.

For Kai the best defense was a good offense. He was about to make it clear that Kit could not target Max without a fight.

"Did you expect me to ask for your permission before challenging him?" Kit asked. When Kai didn't deign to respond he added a taunting, "Or are you always like this?"

Kai wasn't interested in banter, nor did he care for the buzz of others gathering around to speculate on the impending match. He was going to let Dranzer do the talking.

He took a ready stance and saw the taunting look on Kit's face vanish. In spite of his arguments, Kit was going to face him seriously.

Both beyblades hit the dish at the same moment and went for each other immediately. The excited shouts from the crowd around him dissolved into silence in Kai's ears. There was nothing but the opponent across from him.

Kit's style fit his personality as far as Kai was concerned. He would circle in search of a weak spot and then strike without hesitation, throwing everything into each attack and relying on blinding speed to destabilize his opponent. For Kai, the battle became a matter of proving that he had no weak spots to target. Keeping Dranzer on the attack, Kai managed to tail Kit's beyblade around the dish without giving him time to regroup for a successful strike.

The message Kai wanted to send was simple. 'I am stronger than you. I am more ruthless than you. Don't mess with my team or I will beat you down.'

He had said Max didn't need defending, and it was basically true. Anyone who took him for their 'weak link' would be in for a nasty surprise sooner or later. Max could look after himself. Kai knew that, but he still took it a little too personally when he thought Max was being picked on. Max was far too friendly and trusting. Even if he was strong enough to weather a charming bastard, that wouldn't keep him from getting hurt along the way.

Kai still didn't know what Kit intended to gain from his meddling, anyway. He'd heard the reasons Kit had given, but refused to believe them. He had already seen a few nasty little hints of himself in Kit. How could someone even a tiny bit like him, someone who acted like they could drive ahead and hardly even notice what damage they caused, be any good for Max?

It was obvious Kit got his message. The other blader was tense, sweating with the effort of standing his ground. Or maybe it was the heat Dranzer was giving off. The air above the dish was starting to shimmer like a desert mirage.

"Come on, Silnaja, we're not backing down!" Kit called out to his bitbeast.

The creature seemed to raise from the center of his blade in a single, undulating line. For a moment it stretched toward the ceiling, towering over even the spectators on the catwalk above. Then it coiled in on itself and resolved into the form of a hooded serpent, poised to strike.

"Dranzer, finish this!" Kai shouted in answer. The snake struck at his beyblade, nearly knocking it out of the dish before the Dranzer could manifest.

Dranzer's wings flared in a defensive movement, and Silnaja responded in kind. What Kai had taken for a hood snapped open to reveal a pair of wings. When Dranzer tried to at least gain an altitude advantage, those little wings flapped furiously, bringing Silnaja's fanged head up to match the limit of how far Dranzer could rise from the talisman set in the furiously spinning beyblade below.

For a moment they had a stalemate. Dranzer was unable to stoop down on the erect snake, while Silnaja kept attempting to strike, only to be rebuffed by blows from blazing wings. Below the beyblades clashed and locked, mirroring the struggle between the raging bitbeasts.

Kai willed his body not to tense, letting his strength flow through to Dranzer as the phoenix slowly forced their opponent down. It was natural to empty his mind of everything but the heat of Dranzer's attacks.

"Come on, Kit! You're not out of this yet!" Came Max's voice, cutting through Kai's concentration like a knife.

It was obvious Kit had heard as well. Max's brief words of encouragement energized him, and the effect was immediately noticeable. While Kai was momentarily struck dumb by Max, Kit had the opportunity to truly strike. Silnaja's fangs finally found purchase in one of Dranzer's wings.

Close on the heels of shock came fury. Max's voice in his ear translated to raw emotion twisting in his gut. Max was cheering on someone Kai hated, sounding as if he wanted Kai to lose.

There was nothing of Kai's usual finesse in his next move, nothing planned. All he knew was the feeling of wanting to destroy any person or bitbeast who dared to challenge him. The thought was like a key in a lock, releasing something he'd never realized was building up inside of him.

Kai's world went black. All he could feel was heat rushing through him from some previously suppressed source. He had the impression he was feeding something massive, something that glowed like the flare of a miniature sun.

What snapped him out of it he couldn't be sure. Maybe it was nothing more than the knowledge of victory, because the next thing he saw was Dranzer standing triumphant. The phoenix spread her blazing wings to challenge the world, completely dwarfing the beydish, with Kit's still beyblade captured under one taloned foot. Silnaja had vanished.

If Kai hadn't already been assured of his victory, the stunned look on Kit's face sealed it.

Kai stepped forward to retrieve Dranzer, but the moment he moved there were dark spots dancing in front of his eyes. The triumphant bitbeast faded as his concentration broke, and his beyblade wobbled and spun itself out before he could reach it.

Managing to hold himself steady, Kai snatched Dranzer from the dish and forced himself to stand. The simple act of straightening his legs and lifting his head seemed to take forever, but when he did he found Kit hadn't moved at all. It was unusually quiet, making Kai feel as if everyone had been frozen but him. There was a subdued buzz of whispering spreading through the crowd but no one took the chance to shout out.

No one, that is, but Max.

"Kai, don't you think that was too much?" he asked, not needing to raise his voice to be heard clearly.

As Kai tried to face the unhappy blond, he felt Ray step up beside him. Ray's hand slipped under his arm and took a firm grip on him, invisibly supporting him when the floor seemed to tilt under him just because he'd turned his head.

"Come on, let's finish our tour before you decide to terrorize anyone else with your skills," Ray said, covering his gesture of support.

"What are you doing?" Kai muttered under his breath.

Ray's hand tightened under his arm, an unspoken signal that it was only there because Ray was quite aware he needed it.

"You scorched the ceiling with that stunt," Ray informed him.

Kai looked up and had to blink hard several times before he was sure that what he was seeing was real and not an artifact of the spots that kept appearing at a middle distance wherever he looked. There was indeed a dark smudge scorched into the ceiling directly over the dish, which was fairly impressive considering the ceiling was three stories up from where he stood.

"Well, I couldn't go easy on him," Kai reasoned out loud.

For some reason that seemed to break the tension. Kit laughed and moved to collect Silnaja. The rest of the crowd seemed to explode into a cacophony of chatter and cheers. Kai could only wince at the noise.

Ray tugging on his arm was enough of an excuse to get out of the middle of the crowd, and Kai took it. While he wasn't visibly leaning on Ray, Kai was hyper-aware of being supported by his teammate. He didn't think he could have walked a straight line without Ray's solid guidance. With it, Kai was able to walk calmly out of the room and not alert anyone to his condition.

Well, almost no one. Kai felt Max's hand brush softly against his opposite arm, letting him know the other boy was there.

Tyson looked back and forth between their retreating group and the promising excitement of a couple dozen newly energized beybladers before following, unwittingly supporting their exit by getting people's attention with casual promises for however many matches later.

Kai recognized what had happened to him. It was the exhaustion that sometimes followed a long, hard battle when he had been feeding Dranzer with all he had. They had all felt it at one time or another, and had always helped each other. The only problem was that there was no way such a short battle should have left him feeling this drained, let alone disoriented.

It was nothing new, so they at least knew how to handle it. It would have been simpler if Kai would let himself sit down and recover for a few minutes, but he had to walk away under his own power. He would not show a hint of weakness, not in unfamiliar territory surrounded by potential challengers. At least Ray understood that.

They got as far as the center's cafeteria when Kenny gave them an excuse to sit down by pointing out that it was past lunchtime and none of them had bothered to eat anything on the bus. They picked out a booth along the wall, with Max scooting in ahead and putting one hand on Kai's arm again when he sat down. Kai didn't need the support anymore, but he was at least gracious enough not to shrug Max and Ray off.

By that time Kai was feeling back to himself, though his sheer stubbornness was all that kept him from leaning against the table. He decided that if he tried again now, he could probably walk in a straight line unaided.

The extra energy he had forced into Dranzer was gradually leaching back into his body. The spots had at least disappeared from his vision, but his head had started throbbing in compensation, and he was definitely dehydrated from his close contact with the phoenix. In spite of all that, Kai felt ready to go back and start another fight if he had to.

Ray's hand slipped from under his arm and gave him a friendly squeeze on the shoulder, a gesture that normally only Max dared.

"I'll grab you lunch if you promise to leave some of these guys for the rest of us," he offered, before taking off with Kenny to go select food.

"Kai," Max finally spoke up. He was sitting against the wall, as if trying to avoid touching. "You dropped this."

Kai found his launcher slipped into his lap and closed his hand over it automatically. He hadn't even noticed letting go of it. He had slipped up and shown weakness in front of his teammates again, and once again he found them not only helping him but preserving his dignity as well. Someday maybe he would get used to this.

"I'll go help carry stuff," Max decided. He ducked under the table and actually crawled past Kai's legs to get out.

There was something faintly guilty about Max trying to get away so quickly. Kai called his name sharply, his voice coming out with a lot more anger than he had intended, but it didn't make Max look back. He paused only to say something to Tyson before hurrying out of Kai's line of sight.

"What?" Tyson shouted after Max. "Why me?"

Kai wasn't going to pretend Max was his prize for winning that battle, but he still wanted to keep an eye on Max for a little while. Having Tyson plop down on the seat across from him was not the same. Besides that, he was quite sure Max had just told Tyson to keep an eye on their poor, worn-out team captain, and he resented it. He craned his neck around, trying to glare in the direction Max had gone.

"So, Captain Overkill, what did I miss?"

"Nothing." Kai got to his feet and found he now had no trouble standing unsupported, though the throbbing in his head redoubled in a way that discouraged him from trying to move too quickly.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with Max now, too?"

"I'm not picking a fight," Kai snapped, but he hesitated to follow Max. What was he even supposed to say?

"Then what is your problem today?"

Tyson's blunt question was a relief after Max's confusing behavior. Kai found it easy to be blunt in return.

"He was cheering for the other guy." That was what bothered him at the core. It wasn't as if he was defending Max's honor, but he had expected his teammate to be on his side.

Tyson stared at him as if he had said the stupidest thing possible. "That's _it_? You're winning, and you've got the whole room chanting, 'Kai, Kai, Kai,' like you're some superstar, and you have to torch the guy because _Max_ tries to cheer for the _underdog_?"

When he said it that way, Kai actually felt foolish. He dropped back into the booth, reeling as if his world was flipping upside down. He'd somehow managed to drive Max away from him, while Kenny gave him excuses to rest and Tyson made him feel like an idiot.

"So then you tried to scorch his eyebrows off in retaliation or something? Because we were in the front row, and let me tell you, you almost managed it!"

"Tyson," Kai growled. His headache was getting the better of him, and he didn't know at this point if it was dehydration or anger.

"I mean, we could have been roasting marshmallows and hotdogs from there."

"Drop it."

Tyson shrugged, utterly unfazed by his temper, as always.

"Yeah, well. . ." Tyson reached across the table and managed to cuff him on the shoulder. By now Kai was well versed enough in the weird play-fighting Tyson engaged in to know the gesture was one of comradery rather than challenge. "We don't expect you to hold anything back, just quit getting so crazy before you end up broiling someone."

Kai finally got his lunch, but more importantly he got to stop being the center of attention. Ray brought him an extra bottle of water, because he'd once mentioned overusing Dranzer left him dehydrated, and Ray never forgot that sort of thing, but that was the extent of their fussing. Kai was grateful.

After a few minutes the team had dispersed slightly as more people trickled into the cafeteria, either looking for food or for another gawk at the Bladebreakers. Ray was encircled by a small cloud of admirers while he ate, and Tyson seemed well on his way to, loudly, adding several new matches to his schedule over lunch. Kai tried not to pay attention to Max, but couldn't help being aware that the blond's back remained turned to him at all times.

He wasn't thinking about Max. Kai was more concerned with real problems, the main one being why he had felt as if he had blacked out during Dranzer's final attack.

After consideration, he put it down to stress and exhaustion draining his physical and mental resources. He had seen Max go cross-eyed with the effort of concentrating while he was tired. Could it be something as simple as that?

Pushing his mind firmly from the subject of Max once again, Kai pressured Kenny to show him the replay of his fight with Kit. Dizzy hadn't wanted to open the file at first, because apparently Kai had done something to make her overheat and he wasn't in a mood to apologize, but he did eventually get to check the video Kenny had recorded during the match. Kai was once again grateful that his own bitbeast was never so fussy.

He had to admit they were right that his attack had been significantly more powerful than necessary, but he didn't see anything out of place. At the point where he had apparently blanked out there was a sharp drop in the video quality due to Dranzer's overpowering heat, but Kai could see well enough to tell that he hadn't lost his stance and Dranzer had delivered the final blow, if with more force than usual.

Black wisps seemed to rise from Dranzer, which gave Kai pause because he had never seen smoke rise from his beloved phoenix before, but they disappeared as soon as the video quality cleared up. He was sure he heard Max's voice, shouting something a moment before he claimed victory, but he didn't ask to repeat the video just to hear what Max was saying. That was all he needed.

With that concern set to rest, Kai finally turned to his neglected lunch and ate in silence without tasting or even truly noticing his food.

Now that he thought about it, his problem had obviously been caused by lack of sleep. Exhaustion had impaired his judgement, making him overreact and try to expend more energy than he could spare. If he couldn't get more sleep, the only thing he could do to cope would be to keep a much tighter control on how much energy he wasted.

Kai tried to fix his mind on that, rather than noticing that Max never re-claimed the inner seat at their booth, even though Kai guarded it for him the whole time. There was no reason to keep letting his wandering thoughts drift to what Max was doing. Max could take care of himself. For now, Kai had to focus on dealing with his own weaknesses.


	9. Chapter 9

Finally, finally this chapter is done! Thank you so much to everyone for your patience while I figured things out. I hope everyone will continue to enjoy this new chapter even after I took so long! Even my final editing check which usually takes me an hour took a week because I was so tired out from work.

I want to give an especially big thank you to Rice Kracker for being so patient with me while I rewrote the first scene three times trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, and to slr2moons, who I know had a huge job on the beta this time.

Obligatory author status note: I am taking fanfiction prompts for the month of December 2011. Link to the relevant livejournal entry can be seen in my profile. (Chapter 10 is already mostly done pending betaing and final edits, so you don't have to ask for that in a prompt!)

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Even though he was concentrating on keeping himself at arm's length from Kai until he had figured out where they stood with each other, Max noticed that something was off.

The explosive battle Kai had thrown himself into wasn't enough to raise red flags by itself. Kai might not lose his temper with a lot of obvious shouting and arm-waving the way Tyson did, but he did undeniably lose it if someone hit the right nerve. There was the fact that Kai had exhausted himself, not in an all-or-nothing gambit, but by lashing out wildly. Max could swear Kai's concentration had broken right before Kit tried to turn the tide of the battle.

It wasn't just Kai's reactions that were off. Max was making a point not to stare, but he couldn't help noticing signs that Kai wasn't entirely well. The dark bruises under Kai's eyes were only the first, most obvious thing. It seemed like every time he let his attention drift back to Kai he picked up other subtle hints.

Kai carried himself with an unconscious strength that Max had always admired, but that appearance of strength was becoming strained. Usually Kai would sit back, unconcerned if not relaxed, and look at people who annoyed him as if they were bugs he couldn't be bothered to swat. Ever since they had dragged him out of the main training area, however, he had held himself as if he was on alert.

The normal response to Kai being in a bad mood was usually to leave him alone. They trusted him, and knew better than to take any standoffish behavior as an insult. Kai had always needed his personal space, sometimes seeming isolated and unapproachable even when he stayed with their group. Even though Max could tell something was wrong, and his instinct was to want to fix it immediately, there didn't seem to be anything he could do but stand back and make sure he was one less stress for Kai to deal with.

Tyson was being a lot more helpful than him, getting people's attention and taking some of the pressure off of Kai. It was obvious to Max he was doing it on purpose, too. It wasn't completely an altruistic sacrifice. Tyson thrived on noise and excitement and had never been adverse to being the center of attention, but there was definitely an effort to draw as many people as possible out of Kai's personal space.

Max would have liked to help out the same way, but he got the feeling that just by staying in the same room he was some sort of unwelcome irritation for Kai. He was sure he could feel Kai's stare burning against his back.

There were other things he could do to get out of Kai's way. Kai had been his absolute top priority after what had happened, but now that he was sure Kai was recovering from that crazy stunt, Max found he was worried about Kit as well. Of course Kit had his own team to look after him, but they were kind of friends now, right? Max thought he should at least make sure Kai hadn't scorched him by accident.

With that in mind, though at that point any excuse would have been good enough if it got him away from Kai before he did something stupid, Max went to find the Lightning Fangs.

Elane was the easiest to find, since she had insinuated herself into the group around Tyson and snagged him into an animated debate about weight versus attack angle that would probably only be settled in the dish. It was good to see that Kai's match hadn't translated to a full-on grudge between their teams. Once Max managed to get her attention she happily pointed him in the direction Kit had gone, with a playful prod in the back to speed him on his way.

As Max reached the workshop Elane had directed him to, he heard voices. He only paused for a second, listening to check who was inside. The eavesdropping was mostly unintentional.

"So your princess has a fire-breathing dragon guardian for you to contend with. Can you stop sulking about it already? Because you should've seen it coming and I'm just glad I'm not scraping you off the wall after that."

"Stop calling him that!" came Kit's voice in response. "And it's not a dragon, it's a phoenix."

Max froze for a few seconds, because Kit had company and Lexi sounded like she was angrily reining herself in and he wasn't quite sure they weren't talking about him. Actually he was quite sure they were, and he didn't know how to react to that. At the same time, he was here on a mission. He couldn't back out now.

"It's still made of fire," was Lexi's retort.

After giving them a few seconds to get into discussing Kai's bitbeast and attacks, Max stepped inside. It was at least a slightly less awkward part of the conversation for him to intrude on, and he didn't want to lurk outside the door indefinitely.

Max's first thought when he entered the workshop was to wonder why this hadn't been part of their brief tour, never mind them being waylaid almost as soon as they were inside the center. There was definitely nothing like this in any of the labs where his mom had worked. Those were for separate, solitary work on one advanced design–sometimes only one aspect of a design–at a time. The idea of having so many people working together at once was exciting to Max.

Immediately he wanted to know what the place would sound like when it was full. Four rows of tables with benches on either side provided work space for dozens of beybladers. There were small clamps fixed to the tables, a huge collection of tools hung neatly on pegboards and racks along the walls, and even several bins of common parts. Max could only imagine the noise and energy that would hum off the walls when the place was full of people working. At the moment it was only Lexi and Kit sitting opposite one another at one of the tables, and now him.

"Hey, Max!"

Lexi left her seat and moved to greet him, which was unexpected by itself. Kit, who had been slumped in his seat with his forehead on his hands, jumped up as well at the sound of Lexi's greeting. He nearly knocked over his bench with the sudden movement and whipped around to look at Max. His cheeks had gone bright pink, which made Max feel strangely embarrassed as well.

"I wanted to check if everything was okay. After that last attack and all."

"That's great!" Lexi clapped a hand on his shoulder and used it to steer him a few steps closer to Kit. "Please take responsibility and look after _Sir Sulks-a-lot_," this obviously aimed in Kit's direction, "for a little while."

"Lex, cut it out! He doesn't have to do anything."

"It's okay," Max said automatically. "I did come to check on you, after all."

"Alright then," Lexi said, as if everything was settled like that. "I'll give you two some privacy." She gave Max a gentle push in Kit's direction before leaving the room with a self-assured stride, closing the door behind her.

"She. . ." Max pointed behind himself where Lexi had disappeared. He had no idea what he wanted to say.

"Yeah, she knows I like you. Does it bother you?"

Max shook his head. Kai was probably the only person he wouldn't have wanted to know he had an admirer, and that couldn't be helped anymore.

"You can take a seat," Kit offered. He was running his fingers through his short hair again, making it stand out more than ever, but his voice was as mellow and calming as the first time they had met.

Max slipped into the seat Lexi had left vacant, across the table from Kit. He fingered one of the old scars left in the smooth wood of the tabletop as he tried to think what he was supposed to say beyond the necessary 'Are you okay?' He hadn't expected to feel nervous being alone with Kit, and the earnest way he found Kit watching him when he looked up only made that worse. Max usually found he could talk to anyone and try to make friends, but he wasn't used to people having expectations of him that he had no clue how to meet.

"Is Silnaja okay?" Max asked. "After that last attack and all."

"Did you want to collect on that rematch?"

"I don't know if I'm ready." Max hadn't thought he would ever turn down a match, but it wasn't the match he didn't feel ready for.

"That's fine." Kit pulled out his beyblade and showed it to Max. "Silnaja's a little warped from the heat, anyway. I still have to fix her." He ran his thumb almost thoughtfully over the talisman set in his blade, showing a half-coiled winged snake. "It was really strange. She looked almost faded for a few minutes after, but she's fine now."

"I'm sorry. Kai never holds back against a strong opponent, but he usually wouldn't go and damage. . ." Max trailed off, remembering the first time he had faced Kai himself. He had never felt there was any malice in the way Kai had treated him, but it was true that Kai had been too focused on winning to care about any incidental damage he caused.

Kai wasn't the kind of bully who would break a beginner's blade just because he could. He usually flat-out refused challenges that he considered below his level, and otherwise wouldn't expend any more power than he needed to ensure a quick, decisive victory. His attitude might upset or insult people, but it didn't leave lasting damage. Somehow Max had forgotten how ruthless Kai could really be. The last time he had gone all-out before today was against Team Psykick, and that had been a completely different situation. Rather than sparing an instant to worry that Kai would go too far, Max had been left with his heart pounding in excitement from Kai's intensity.

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," Kit laughed.

Max was hardly listening, now his thoughts had latched onto Kai once again. Watching Kai was exciting, but surely he hadn't felt this way since the first time he had seen Kai beyblade. He remembered the powerful exhilaration of their first match, but that wasn't the same thing as the nervous excitement of his crush, was it? He had gotten excited about a lot of opponents. He'd wanted to be friends with a lot of people after no more introduction than a brief match.

"Max," Kit called, startling him out of his thoughts. "Was there something you wanted to ask me about?"

"Well, maybe." Max fingered at dents in the table, wishing he had something to do with his hands. Sitting and talking was not a good outlet for nervous energy. "Um. . . how could you decide you liked me before you even met me?"

"I didn't know for sure. When I faced you across the beydish myself, I knew."

"But why did you tell me?"

Kit was silent for what felt like several minutes while Max squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He hadn't meant to ask like that. He'd assumed that he had until after their promised rematch to figure out what to say, but then he thought of how suddenly Kit had confessed to him and he had to know why. If that was all it was, a moment of shared intensity and _bam_, you're in love, he should have figured everything out a year ago.

Max could never stand to dwell on things without doing something about them, but he had apparently found a problem where he couldn't even ask his best friends for advice. Tyson was geared for action, but had zero interest in anything with even a hint of romance. Kenny would try to help, but he would be so horribly embarrassed about it that Max couldn't stand to bring it up. Ray was mature and worldly enough he might know what to do, but he was also very close to Kai and didn't like to keep secrets among the team. Kai. . . there was no way he could tell Kai. At least Kit seemed mature and self-possessed and definitely wouldn't let slip to Kai if he asked anything strange.

"You're gay, aren't you," Kit finally murmured, as if he was trying to break the news to Max as gently as possible.

"Why would you say that?" Max sat bolt upright in panic. "You can tell!?"

Why hadn't he thought of this? If he was in love with Kai, that made him gay, didn't it? Max had assumed he was in love with Kai because it was _Kai_, and that was easy enough to accept. He hadn't taken time to think what else that might entail. Could he have been sending out some kind of gay signal without even realizing it? Maybe that was why Kit had been attracted to him in the first place.

Kit was obviously struggling not to laugh, which didn't help Max's panicking at all.

"Why did you say that? Is it that obvious? Do I look gay? Can I fix it so people can't tell!?"

Kit put his forehead in one hand as if Max was giving him a headache, which at least reminded Max to shut his mouth before he started shouting loud enough to be heard outside.

"Damn, you're lucky you're so cute," Kit informed him. "I didn't know. I just guessed you might be because of your reaction earlier. You could've just told me, 'Sorry, I'm straight,' not come to me looking for answers. Or if you were more insecure maybe you'd've punched me in the face."

"Oh. . ." Max managed shakily. He would certainly feel safer if he wasn't automatically showing up on 'gaydar' or something like that. "But I don't think I'm really. . ."

"It's a little late to backtrack, love."

"But I'm not! There's just one guy. I mean, it's nothing," Max mumbled as he trailed off. This had to be the stupidest thing he could have possibly done. Way to start off trying to be friends with Kit by bringing up something both uncomfortable and unfair. He was supposed to be making sure Kit was okay, not making things worse with his thoughtless questions.

"You don't have anyone else you can talk to about this, do you?" Kit asked, so gently that it made Max want to prove him wrong.

"Of course I do! It just slipped out! I wasn't trying to bring it up, so let's talk about something else!"

"Before you change the subject, tell me one thing. This 'one guy' you've fallen for, is it me?"

Max swallowed hard, feeling even more terrible. He did like Kit, but that wasn't even close to being the same as what he felt for Kai. "I barely know you."

"Fair enough."

"Sorry." Max knew he was being a heel and had no idea how to really apologize.

He tried to look at anything other than Kit. There was a door opening to a separate room with stations for electrical tools, and Max ended up staring to the large poster hanging beside it. 'Do not enter without eye protection,' it said in half a dozen languages, and below the text was a picture of a sad face with an eyepatch. Max kept staring at the languages he couldn't read, as if they might resolve into something he understood. Kai had only taught him enough Russian to recognize things like 'danger, no entry' and find the toilet. And now even the Russian alphabet was making him think of Kai.

"And you're not going to tell me who this lucky guy is?"

"I can't!" Max hadn't worked up the nerve to tell his best friends in the world. There was no way he could blurt out something like that. "I shouldn't have said anything. Can we please drop it?"

"Max-"

"Do you want help fixing Silnaja?" Max interrupted. It was the first thing he could think of to try to get Kit off the topic. "That's why you're here, right?"

"Yeah, sure." If he was surprised by Max's outburst, Kit got over it pretty quickly. "I'd love your help."

Kit took Silnaja apart, setting the pieces out on the table between them, and Max hoped he had found his way back to familiar ground at last.

Their first step was inspecting all of the parts for damage. The core was still sound, but outer parts were visibly warped, as Kit had said. Many of them would have to be replaced, but Kit already had a few custom parts with him for quick fixes.

Max found faint scorch marks on the underside of Kit's attack ring that looked like they should match Dranzer's talons. He ran his thumb over them, thinking of Kai again. Usually seeing Kai go all-out was amazing. It made Max's heart pound to see him like that. He didn't know why this time it had worried him. It had felt as if Kai was about to lose control, even though he had stopped easily once he had won. Maybe it was only because Kai had over-exerted himself with his attack that Max couldn't escape this bad feeling.

Giving himself a little shake, Max tried to settle down and concentrate on Silnaja. He was nowhere near the same level as Kenny or either of his parents when it came to building and repairing beyblades, but there were times when he missed the fun of doing it himself. Even if he did tend to learn by doing things wrong a dozen times first, Max had enjoyed his amateur attempts.

He'd never used a jewelry saw on any of his pieces, though. Max watched in fascination when Kit clamped one of the pieces in place and used the thin, delicate saw blade to open little grooves around the ring. He'd already marked out where they would go, but apparently didn't like actually making the modification until he was ready to put a new blade together.

Max tried to express how much he liked the idea of an amateur workshop like this where anyone could hone their skills. There wasn't anything like that were they were staying now, he told Kit. It was too bad, since Kenny probably would have loved it.

Kit found it strange that they were out there by themselves in the first place. He was quick to point out that they weren't much of a secret weapon when everyone already expected them to be good. Max had assumed the idea was that letting them having the run of the place with no distractions would be good for their focus. Wasn't that why the old center was built way out there in the first place?

When he'd thought about it for a minute, Max did admit that training here would be more fun–probably not for Kai, but for the rest of them–but he didn't speculate on it much beyond that. He dropped the subject quickly enough when Kit gave him a warm smile and commented how lucky it was their sponsor would still let them out and show them off from time to time.

Max's half of the work was easy enough. He took his time cleaning parts, smoothing out little places that were rough or damaged, and watched with undisguised interest while Kit handled the more tricky repairs that were unique to his own blade. He noticed the curve of circular grooves running up through the blade, and tried to mentally compare them with the strange way Silnaja moved.

"Did you figure it out?" Kit asked him, once he had clicked the final piece back into place.

"What?"

"My trick. Here," Kit caught Max's hand and touched his fingers to one of the almost-invisible grooves in Silnaja's side. "Hit the right speed and it makes its own little slipstream."

Max didn't know if he was more embarrassed by Kit revealing sensitive information or just holding his hand. He wouldn't have even noticed the latter if it was anyone else. Kit's fingertips were rubbing little circles over the back of his hand while Max tried to read Silnaja with his own fingers to distract himself from it.

"So do you plan on doing anything about it?"

"What, your technique? I would never sabotage-"

"No, this 'one guy' you have a crush on. You gonna act on that?"

Max shook his head in vehement denial. There was no way he could, not with Kai. But that didn't stop curiosity from picking away at him.

"Why did you tell me you like me, anyway?" Max asked. He already knew that rejection was painful, and he wasn't ready to court that feeling again yet.

"Because you were worth the risk."

Max was struck dumb for a few seconds. Here he had been thinking he wouldn't risk what he had to tell Kai something like that.

"He's worth any risk!" Max blurted out defensively. He pulled his hands free, clenching them into loose fists and staring at them. He would have risked his life to help Kai. Why did this feel so much harder? Was it only because he might be risking a friendship for the chance at something else? With so much to lose and so little chance of gaining something, how could he put a crush before a precious friendship like that?

"Is there some way I can help? Maybe I barely know you, but I do know I like it better when you're happy."

Max shook his head, but apparently Kit wasn't willing to drop it. There were suddenly fingers under his chin tilting his face up, Kit had stood to lean across the table separating them, and the next thing Max knew he was being kissed on the mouth.

It was over almost as soon as it had begun. Kit fell back into his own seat, looking far too pleased with himself.

Max opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like a stunned goldfish before words came out. "Wha? What? What was that for!?"

"Did it bother you? Is it disgusting getting kissed by a guy?"

Being kissed by another boy, no. Being kissed by surprise was what made Max's brain grind to a screeching halt.

"Here's another question: can you imagine kissing _him_ like that? Because if you can't even imagine yourself kissing this guy, he's not worth getting so worked up over."

Maybe that was true, but when he tried to imagine kissing Kai all he could think was that Kai would kill him for trying it. Max curled his hands into fists and braced them on the table, more furious with himself than he could possibly be with Kit. He felt so stupid.

"I'm sorry if I went too far."

"It's not that," Max snapped. It hadn't felt weird, but actually almost nice. Maybe that was a sign he really was gay, or maybe the kiss had been too quick to feel bad. Max didn't know. He didn't want to think about it right now.

"I do want to support you, Max." Kit's hand was resting innocently on the table between them, and Max glared at it, silently daring it to move and try to surprise him again. "And I want to get to know you better."

"To be friends with me, or to keep flirting with me?"

"Would you take both?"

When Max didn't object, Kit's hand finally moved, fingers brushing Max's knuckles while he watched in suspicion. "Here, I'll give you my email." Kit was already touching Max while he dug around for a pen in his toolbox, and seemed to take his time writing the short address across the back of Max's hand. He was obviously reluctant to let go once done.

"You can wash it off if you don't want it," Kit offered. "But even if you do, and nothing else I said today is any use, just make sure to cut yourself some slack. You don't have to be in a rush to label yourself, and you don't have to jump into anything if you're not sure."

Even if he hadn't meant to pick Kit as someone to confide in, Max thought later that might have been the best advice he could have gotten. He always felt like he had to do something, to jump in with both feet and make things move. Somehow being told that he didn't have to figure everything out all in a rush helped ease a little of the panic that had been building up inside him.

The rest of the afternoon was completely uneventful compared to that. Max never did get his rematch with Kit, but there was more than enough to occupy him. There were new people to meet, new techniques to see, and plenty of friendly matches to be had. Every so often Max would glance over to check on Kai, but there was never any change. Kai was alert, subtly agitated, and antisocial as ever. Max helpfully kept his distance.

Staying out of Kai's hair for the rest of their short trip seemed like a good plan, but that became more difficult when it was time for the team to retire for the night. The training center's dormitory provided two three-person rooms connected by a small bathroom. There was an unspoken consensus that Kai only got one roommate because his bad mood was still palpable to the rest of them.

Max was reluctant to share a room with Kai again and risk antagonizing him further. Unfortunately he'd drawn the short straw without knowing it because someone had already moved his bag into Kai's room. He suspected Ray, but the only evidence was Ray being against his plan to hang out with Tyson instead.

"No way. I know you two will be up all night making a ruckus."

"So?" That was probably true, but Max didn't see what was so bad about not getting any sleep.

"The rest of us need sleep, Max."

"We won't make a _big_ ruckus," Max protested. "What about the Chief? He's quiet. I bet Kai wouldn't mind at all if he's not on his computer."

"Because so far Kai objects the least to you. Besides, Kenny's already asleep."

"Kai's mad at me right now. It's really not a good idea."

The words were already out of Max's mouth before he realized Kai was standing in the bathroom doorway. The silence that descended was heavy enough to squash the rest of the arguments Max was trying to prepare. Kai didn't say a word in response, but went about brushing his teeth with an air of indifference.

Max gave Ray his best, 'Look how much he hates me, please don't leave me alone!' puppy eyes. It was not exactly a look he'd practiced before, but it got the message across after a few beseeching attempts.

"Fine. I'll go get my bag if you want to switch."

"I'm not angry with you," Kai finally said.

Watching Kai performing the seemingly innocent steps of rinsing out his mouth, Max wanted to call him a big liar. Kai was obviously not happy. Even his wrists and fingers were visibly tense. He might not be clenching his fingers hard enough to make tendons stand out in stress, but it was enough for Max to see his free hand half-curled into a claw.

Then Kai glanced at the email written on Max's hand, and the expression that crept onto his face. . . Max couldn't really classify that as a smile, but it was the closest Kai had gotten to one all day. "You make new friends so easily."

What was that supposed to mean? It didn't sound like Kai wanted him to go away and hang out with his new friends instead. Was changing the subject Kai's way of proving he wasn't angry?

Curiosity and responsibility warred with Max's vow to leave Kai alone for a few seconds, until Max managed to reconcile them by reminding himself that he was staying away from Kai to keep from making things worse. Maybe it would be okay if he could make sure not to tread on Kai's frayed nerves.

Ray was still standing behind him, being no help at all but just watching the whole mess as if the two of them were unexpectedly interesting.

"I guess I'll keep him," Max finally agreed.

Max transferred Kit's email to a scrap of paper before scrubbing away the ink on his hand. By the time he was done Kai had already claimed one of the beds and settled in without so much as a 'goodnight,' his face turned silently toward the wall.

* * *

Max was hanging on to his arm with both hands, his body warm and not unwelcome at Kai's side. Even though he was pressed against Max in a small space, Kai felt comfortable. He was better off than if he'd been outside.

They were inside of Draciel, Kai realized as he recognized the pattern of a great turtle shell stretched over them like a shield. Kai felt as if he was looking through a wall of water which distorted the world outside. His eyes were drawn to a dark shape in the distance like a smudge of smoke, or black fire. . . .

The black shape kept twisting around on itself as it moved, so that Kai couldn't have said if it was aware of them or as aimless as a forest fire. It swept over the surface of Draciel's shell, a seething mass as it searched for a chink in that armor, and suddenly the protective shell over them seemed very thin.

"I won't let it take you away from us," Max told him.

Even as he said those words cracks were starting to mar their shield, spreading through Draciel's shell from a thousand points and criss-crossing like a giant spider's web. The darkness seeped through those cracks as if it was insubstantial as smoke, and Kai knew nothing would hold it back from him. Not Dranzer. Not Draciel. Certainly not Max, who was still holding his arm.

Max suddenly moved, gripping Kai's shoulders and looking up into his face. He called Kai's name, his voice loud over the sound of Draciel's shell splintering and the rush of blood in Kai's ears. Kai thought Max was still trying to shield him somehow.

When the shell over them finally shattered, the darkness rushed in to curl over Max's shoulders and twist around his arms. It slid through his pale hair like clawed fingers and began to creep across his cheeks. Black marks burned into Max's skin at the first touch of fire, playing connect-the-dots with his freckles.

Dark, viscous fire curled over the bridge of Max's nose, down his chin, around his eye. . . Kai knew it would burn out those clear blue eyes if he let it. It would take away the fierce spark of joy and determination he caught himself looking for in Max's eyes, and that look of combined trust and support that he had only recently come to appreciate.

"Kai," Max kept calling to him. He sounded worried, almost frightened. "Kai, wake up."

If he couldn't save himself, he could at least keep the fire from swallowing Max as well. Kai grabbed Max with both hands, twisted, and tried to shove him away. Max wouldn't let go. He kept hanging on to Kai, and to Kai's horror the tendrils of dark fire continued to burn him.

"Kai, can you hear me? Kai!"

Max's voice broke with panic, and that made Kai panic as well. He struck out blindly, his voice too frozen to tell Max to get away. He knew this thing was after him and him alone. It wouldn't touch Max if the other boy didn't insist on shielding him.

When he managed to throw Max away from himself, the movement ripped the claws of black fire from Max's body. Kai felt them immediately shift to consume him instead. There was an instant of terror and pain and something like triumph. . . .

A loud thump and a startled cry woke Kai suddenly. He found himself gasping for breath, staring up into the dark, not sure if the black fire was still about to swallow him whole.

"Ow, Kai! Wha'd you do that for? I was just trying to help!" Max's voice cut through his half-awake confusion.

Kai rolled over and groped for the light. He found Max kneeling on the floor beside his bed, one hand over his face and the other braced on the bedside table.

"See if I try to wake you up next time you're having a nightmare."

It took a minute for things to click into place in Kai's half-awake brain. Even in his dream he had heard Max telling him to wake up. He must have pushed away the real Max while trying to get the one in his dream out of the fire's path.

Kai reached for Max, but hesitated to actually touch, not sure what he should do in this situation. The burns traced across Max's cheeks were still all too vivid in his mind's eye.

Max muttered something frustrated under his breath. He got to his feet and went directly to the bathroom, apparently ignoring Kai.

Under normal circumstances Kai might have been willing to leave Max alone. Now, however, the vision his mind had conjured up of black fire slowly consuming Max's body made him unable to let his teammate out of his sight.

Max was splashing water on his face when Kai followed him into the bathroom. Blood trickled from his nose, and Kai felt a stab of guilt. He had never meant to hurt Max. He wouldn't strike out at any of his teammates without a very good reason, not after everything they'd been through together, but especially not Max. And now he had drawn blood.

"Max, I'm sorry."

Max glanced up to look at him in the mirror. "Hey, you were asleep. I can't blame you."

Asleep or not, Kai didn't find it that simple. He grabbed a handful of tissues and stepped right up behind Max. He caught Max's chin and forced him around so that Max was facing _him_ instead of his reflection.

"Max," Kai tried again.

"I know, I know. Pinch it hard and it'll stop the bleeding. You're not the first person to give me a bloody nose."

Max took the tissues and did as he'd said, using them to staunch the bleeding and pinching below the bridge of his nose with his other hand. Even while Max was being pragmatic about the whole thing, Kai couldn't let it go. The vision of Max being burned wouldn't leave his head that easily.

More than that fading dream, he couldn't let Max go. All day Max had kept moving away from him, putting distance between them every time Kai turned to him. Kai was used to having Max always coming to him, and now he didn't know what to do. He needed to confirm for himself that Max was whole and safe here with him. Max was too precious to lose.

Kai reached out and wrapped his arms around Max's back to bring his younger teammate closer. Max startled at the touch, one hand flying out to brace against Kai's shoulder as his bright eyes searched Kai's face. Kai expected questions he wouldn't know how to answer, but they would be worth it. Already he felt some of the tension in his gut unknotting, just by seeing for himself that Max's eyes were unharmed by fire or smoke.

No questions came. After that moment of surprise Max's hand returned to pinch at his nose. He let himself be pulled into Kai's chest without the slightest protest against Kai's sudden need to hold him.

Max's body was warm and unexpectedly comfortable against his, exactly as he had been in Kai's dream. Kai shifted so that Max's hair was tickling his cheek and stared out over his shoulder. He didn't know what he was looking for, only that the closed door leading to where their other teammates were sleeping wasn't it.

Unthinkingly, Kai raised one hand and threaded his fingers through Max's hair, as if to comb out any traces of the smoke that he could still smell lingering in the air. All he felt between his fingers were cool, fine strands of hair. There was nothing here to harm Max but him.

"I pushed you away because it was going to swallow you up too. I couldn't let you be dragged down into the dark with me," Kai tried to explain. "I couldn't let it hurt you."

It sounded insane even as he said it. Kai knew what had shaken him wasn't real, but it was still difficult to let go. He couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted to touch someone just for the sake of touching. He didn't have any idea what to do now that he had Max wrapped in his arms.

"Are you talking about your dream?" Max finally asked, his voice sounding odd because he was still holding his nose.

"It's nothing."

Kai closed his eyes, but he didn't let go yet. Max was his shield, his anchor, the only solid thing he had.

Max shifted in his embrace, and Kai felt him take his hand away from his nose.

"Is it always the same thing?" Max persisted. Max hadn't asked anything about the nightmare since the first time Kai had accidentally woken him. "Maybe if you try talking about it?"

"No."

Kai drew back, forcing his arm to release Max's warm body, his fingers to desert their hiding place in Max's hair. He couldn't talk about it. He couldn't even meet those wide, confused eyes silently asking him to please explain. He understood Max wanted to help, but what could he possibly do about this but get himself hurt? The memory would only reopen old wounds for both of them, to say nothing of Kai's wish to forget the past entirely. It was better left alone.

Max sighed, but left Kai alone for once. He turned the cold tap on again to wet the tissues and wiped away the last traces of blood.

"What did you mean, I'm not the first person to give you a bloody nose?"

It was anything to get off the subject of the nightmare, and they both knew it. Max looked up and managed to catch his eye in the mirror once again. He turned the water off before leaning forward to rest his arms on the counter without breaking that indirect eye contact.

"Well, when I was little I was always falling out of trees and stuff. There was this one apple tree in the park near our house, and I could climb up it, but I couldn't really get down again. Can't remember if that was in Boston or. . . Wait, Boston has ginkgos everywhere, right? Maybe it was L.A. We moved around a lot."

"How would I know?"

For some reason it was easier to meet Max's gaze in the mirror. When Kai moved to lay a hand on his shoulder, Max's eyes broke away from his to track the movement. He started, but didn't shy away from the firm hand Kai laid on him.

"I was asking who, not what," Kai clarified, unwilling to accept Max's tangent to his original question.

"Come on, Kai." Max turned from the mirror to grin back at him. "I was always the new kid in town so I never had any friends to start, and I still don't know when to back down from a fight. How do you _think_ that turned out?"

How could he smile while saying that? Kai clenched his hand on Max's shoulder, trying to fight down the tight, angry feeling in his chest. There had been a time when he had not particularly liked Max, and there were certainly still times when his energetic teammate annoyed him, but it was not okay for anyone to hurt Max, ever.

"Are you mad?" Max asked.

Kai couldn't decide if he should be offended by the note of disbelief in Max's voice. Max had asked him if he was mad a few times today. Even recognizing for himself that he was unavoidably, unreasonably angry, Kai still wasn't sure how to answer.

"Who was it?"

Max laughed nervously, reaching up to touch Kai's hand. Kai realized he was clenching down rather hard on Max and relaxed his grip.

"I didn't keep a list of names or anything. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. I have close friends I can rely on in a pinch, and I'm counting you as one of them whether you like it or not. That's all I've ever wanted."

Max lifted his hand from Kai's and moved as if he intended to put his arm around Kai. He paused, fingertips just shy of Kai's shoulder, before letting his hand drop.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Max asked after a moment. "Even though we're friends, and you know I care about you, and it's bothering you. There's nothing you'll let me do to help you."

"Talk to me." Kai finally voiced the request, and to his surprise the tight feeling in his chest seemed to ease. "That's all."

"Really?"

Kai nodded.

"About anything?"

He nodded again.

Max seemed to think for a second, his eyes tracing Kai's face. If not for the trusting look in them Kai would have thought Max was searching for a hint that he was lying. Instead, Max suddenly smiled at him again.

"You know, in Boston they have this museum that used to be this old lady's house. My dad took me when we lived there, and there was this one room that had all these tapestries, like actual old cloth ones on the walls. . ."

Kai hardly even listened. He watched the changing expressions on Max's face, and forced down the urge to slip his arms around Max and once again pull him close.

* * *

After a few minutes of Kai showing no inclination to do anything more than silently listen to him, Max coaxed him to follow until they could both sit on Kai's bed. For almost an hour Max talked about anything that came to mind, keeping his voice low in hopes that he wouldn't disturb anyone in the neighboring rooms.

He ended up telling Kai about different places he'd lived. His mother's job had kept them moving from one city to another every couple of years. As long as Max could remember they'd had a system to those moves. There was a whole order to packing and unpacking so that each new apartment soon felt almost, if not completely, like home. Max remembered the disorientation of each move, as if the rooms had been shuffled around yet stayed the same. By the third day everything would be in place, down to new groceries in the kitchen and soap in the bathroom, and Max's father would smile and tell him, "Now, we have a month to be tourists."

Now that he was older Max suspected this had been a trick to keep him from being difficult while being moved repeatedly, but it had worked. They never had time for normal vacations or family outings, but for a month every year or two his parents would take him to museums and zoos and amusement parks. Max would never have dreamed of being difficult at a time like that.

As he tried to describe the places he had liked best, Max got a sense of deja vu. He remembered talking excitedly about all of these places over the dinner table, trying to share the entire day with the parent who had been left behind. Even when they had all still lived together, they had almost never all gone anywhere as a family.

If Kai was listening, and Max sincerely doubted he was taking in a single word, he didn't seem to care what subject Max picked. The only responses he would offer were occasional noises of encouragement at the long pauses whenever Max sleepily got lost in his own thoughts or tried to decide what to talk about next.

Eventually Kai seemed to fall asleep on his feet. Not literally on his feet, but the idea still held. His eyes were closed and everything. He had been so quiet that Max didn't even notice the change until Kai leaned into him.

Kai didn't seem to lose his usual stiff posture, yet somehow he was pressed against Max's side, cheek resting on his shoulder. For a few seconds Max had no idea what to do. Kai didn't do cuddling, ever. Or at least that was what he had thought up until tonight when Kai had suddenly hugged him. Not knowing what else to do, Max slipped one arm around Kai to hold him steady and went on. At this point he was inserting nonsense in what had been a fairly normal story because he could hardly remember what he was talking about.

"So then we colleted a bucket of moon frogs–they're really loud when they want to be–and we put them out on the roof to signal the aliens, and then we invited them to tea-"

Kai opened one eye to give him a look of sleepy annoyance. "You're making this up."

"Yeah." Max smiled as he admitted it. "I was testing you."

Kai was silent, but it felt to Max like an easy, comfortable silence. He was happy just to be this close to Kai. He still didn't fully understand what was happening, but it felt like he was at least making things better instead of worse. Actually cuddling up against Kai was a guilty pleasure, since he suspected he was enjoying this a lot more than Kai, but Kai had initiated it so it was probably okay.

For once Kai was the one to break the silence with more than a wordless prompting for more words. "Let go of me."

Max looked to Kai in confusion, because Kai's head was still resting against his shoulder. Kai looked like he wanted to settle down and take a nap with Max for his pillow more than anything. Still, Max withdrew his arm. As soon as he did, Kai sat up.

"Guess it's time to go to sleep?" Max suggested.

A silent nod was his signal to leave Kai's bed and return to his own. Then Kai spoke, in a low, serious voice that he almost missed, "Thank you."

"Thank you too, for defending me." Even if it had only been in a dream, Max felt it still needed saying.

"I wasn't defending you."

Kai must have thought Max was talking about the whole match with Kit earlier that day or something, but Max didn't correct him. If Kai had forgotten whatever was in that nightmare it would be for the best anyway, and Max wouldn't remind him. Max just smiled to himself and curled up to sleep, feeling far more at peace than he had the night before.

Neither of them said a word about the incident the next morning, but the silence was significantly more comfortable than it had been for a good, long time. Max dared to think that Kai was doing better once they were able to return to the old training center without incident. Even when he noticed the same tension building up in Kai over the next few days, at least it wasn't as bad as that one dramatic outburst. Somehow, Kai had to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

Finally another chapter up and ready to go. February has been the worst month, but here's to making things better from here on out. More than anything I hope everyone can enjoy this new chapter. First chapter of the year! Oh... dear. I am running behind on this.

I cannot thank slr2moons enough for going above and beyond to beta this one with all of my tweaking (and for giving me a kick in the pants and telling me to stop picking at it and post already).

* * *

Kai was used to blocking out most of the commentary during his matches. Whether it was the roar of the stadium, or shouts from the announcer, or heckling from anyone he wasn't facing off against. Without even having to think about it he could automatically ignore everything except his opponent. Over time, however, his brain had started to let a few voices through the filter. A few, very specific, voices. In spite of the fact that there were times when he didn't want to pay attention to them, he couldn't help picking up his teammate's shouts.

Case in point, while he was trying to focus on pinning down Driger he didn't want to be distracted by chatter. He didn't need to know if Max called dibs on a match with the winner, nor if Tyson was annoyed because Max beat him to it. He really didn't need to be distracted because Max was chatting with Kenny and Hilary nearby, especially when their conversation contained nothing that could directly impact his strategy.

Hilary had apparently hooked up a webcam to her computer, giving her a video-phone connection with Kenny and allowing her to actually watch their practice matches again. The video of her face was now sharing the screen with the changing patterns that represented Dizzi. Having one more person in the audience normally should never have the slightest impact on Kai's focus, though it wasn't specifically her fault that her presence led to distraction.

What Kai found the most distracting was Max playing at being the commentator for their match. His boundless energy was making him a frustratingly irresistible attraction. Kai was sure he was trying to make Hilary laugh.

When he spared half a second to shoot a glance over at Max he found the blond practically bouncing on the balls of his feet and shouting into his launcher in absence of a real microphone.

"Kai has just been on fire this season, I mean he's literally burning right through the competition! Ray's keeping his attacks lightning-quick to avoid the power Kai's got stored up, but will this hot potato be too much for him to handle!? Keep those eyes open, ladies and gentlemen, because Ray can turn the tables faster than you can blink!"

The whole thing wouldn't have been so irritating if Max weren't going about it with such enthusiasm and volume that he was impossible for Kai to ignore. He paid for his lack of focus as Ray took advantage of his distraction to strike. Kai found himself driven back, almost to the rim of the dish.

"Oh no! In a sudden turn-about, Kai is pushed right up to the edge by Ray's attack, and he's already starting to wobble! Is it all over for him? Come _on_ Kai, keep fighting! You can't go down that easy!"

Ray was too quick for him to dodge around and get into a safer position to regroup, and had reached the point of batting him closer and closer to the edge like a cat toying with its prey. The situation didn't look good, but Kai wasn't done fighting by any means. He didn't know if it was his frustration with Max for distracting him at a key moment, or if having Max cheering him on got him even more fired up, but he had too much raw energy pounding through him to possibly lose.

His blade was barely spinning fast enough to summon a bitbeast, but Dranzer immediately answered his call. All he needed was the sudden looming shape of a phoenix head and a pair of fiery wings that swept out to attack Ray's blade before he could summon more than Driger's shadow to counter.

The low-angled attack sent Ray's beyblade tumbling end over end down the side of the dish to land on its side at the bottom. He could hear Max whooping with unrestrained energy and announcing his close victory even while Ray still looked stunned by how suddenly Kai had brought Dranzer out.

"Those were some nice moves, Ray! I thought you had him there!" Max just had to share his enthusiasm with both participants, win or lose.

Ray had never been a sore loser, and seemed to learn from defeat more calmly than any of them. Even as he offered congratulations for the win Kai had snatched, Kai knew from the look in his eye that such a half-baked surprise attack wouldn't work the next time. He did take a minute to say something to Max in a low voice while they were setting up for the next match, but if he was warning him off Kai didn't see the point. Max knew what he was up against by now, and he was obviously too eager to listen to warnings at the moment.

Kai momentarily entertained the idea that Max had wanted him to win so that they would face each other in the next practice match. He had been cheering for both of them indiscriminately, but it had felt like Max was trying to push him to victory just the same.

And then he was facing down Max. He almost smiled to see how Max's boundless energy became so utterly focused the minute he set his mind to something. Suddenly Max had the sort of intense calm that showed in nothing more dramatic than the gleam in his eye and the tight grip on his launcher.

Kai hadn't found himself facing Max one-on-one across a beydish since they had gotten back from their short stay at the new training center. Kai shifted, grounding himself for the launch, and felt his pulse jump as Max did the same. He hadn't realized how much he wanted to face Max again until he was right there waiting. The playful little twist of Max's smile suddenly existed only to goad him on.

There might as well have been nothing in the world outside of Dranzer, Draciel, and Max for all Kai could see or hear. Kai found himself completely swept up in the moment.

Max was playing coy with him, dodging away from Kai's opening attacks though Kai knew he could have absorbed them easily. The new strategy put him off guard for a second, letting Max get in a few quick strikes meant to harry Kai more than properly destabilize him.

Letting out a little breathless laugh as he backed off to circle halfway up the dish, Max was surely inviting a chase. How could he refuse? Kai went after him with a will, and though Max could duck and weave, his blade just wasn't designed to be as fast as Kai's.

Sparks flew when they collided, ricocheted off of one another and collided again. Excited tension was radiating through Kai's body as Max pushed back into him, forcing them into a momentary stalemate. Of course Max wouldn't go down so easily. Kai wouldn't want him to. He wanted to play even more.

When he looked up to gauge his opponent he found Max's face flushed. He was breathing heavily with excitement, and his whole body appeared as tense as Kai's felt. For an instant he looked directly into Max's eyes and found them darkened by his passionate focus, pupils dilated in concentration.

Kai was struck with the vision standing across from him with a vividness that completely shocked him. He had seen Max like this so many times before, but it was as if he had somehow never really looked. Max was beautiful in his intensity, even as he was a challenge that Kai burned to meet.

The realization took only an instant, but the shock of it was enough to break Kai's concentration. When their blades collided again he could hardly direct Dranzer, and he paid for it. One of the hooks on his attack ring slipped under Max's, and caught, and in the next instant Dranzer was flung out of the beydish by the momentum.

Kai thought it was an instant after his that Max's blade flew out in the opposite direction from Dranzer, straight for him. Everything happened too fast for Kai to consciously process. He instinctively threw up an arm to shield his face, only to have Draciel fly under it and hit him in the throat. Max didn't have time to block anything before Dranzer hit him directly in the face.

Time jerked back to its normal pace once the two blades were no longer spinning through the air as out-of-control projectiles, but Kai felt his brain had somehow been left behind. The blow to his own throat was immediately forgotten, because Max had one hand clasped over his left eye.

Kai's stomach clenched, but the tension wasn't anywhere near the pleasant thrill it had been during the match. His first thought was to get to Max. He found his way blocked by Tyson, who'd apparently had the same instinct to get to his friend but hadn't been frozen in shock. Kai had completely forgotten any of the others were even in the room.

"Are you okay Max?" Tyson wanted to know. The others were all asking variations on the same question, but Kai couldn't seem to get his voice to work.

"I'm fine!" Max reassured them, trying to laugh it off. "It just startled me."

Kai would not be put off that easily. Even Tyson's voice yelling at him to leave Max alone might as well have been on the other side of the center instead of right in his ear. He was far more focused on the telltale wetness making Max's uncovered eye gleam. Max's cheeks were still flushed, but the look on his face was no longer one of excitement.

"Let me see," Kai said. He hadn't meant for his tone to come out so demanding, and he couldn't entirely blame Max for starting away from him.

Kai caught Max's hand and pried it away from his face, trying to be gentle even as Max squeezed his uncovered eye closed. He expected to see a little bruising, something that could be fixed with an apology and an ice pack. Instead. . .

The moment his hand was lifted out of the way, a bloody tear trickled down Max's face, following the curve of his cheek. Kai's stomach gave a sick twist at the sight of blood on Max's face and hand. He'd smeared it all the way from his cheekbone to his eyebrow by keeping his hand over the spot, so that Kai couldn't even tell where he was bleeding from.

Max reached up to wipe away the tear, but Kai grabbed his other wrist before he could touch his face.

"I told you it doesn't hurt, I just-"

"Max, your face is all bloody!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Keep your eye closed," Kai commanded, overriding Max's startled gasp of, "What?"

Panic was crawling around at the back of Kai's mind, but he ruthlessly smothered it, forcing himself into a state of dead calm. Everything else would have to come after he had taken care of Max. The first thing was to find the extent of the damage and the source of the blood. Then he would decide what he could do about it.

"I need a towel to clean this up," Kai announced.

He tried to lead Max off towards the bathroom in search of what he needed, but Max seemed rooted to the ground and wouldn't move unless Kai was willing to drag him. Luckily, Ray volunteered almost immediately and just about sprinted out of the room. Kenny followed him, saying something about getting the first aid kit. Judging by her repeated questions of what was going on, Hilary couldn't see them from the angle the computer was at, and Tyson. . . .

"Stop picking on him!"

Tyson remained convinced that Kai was trying to hurt his friend. Kai couldn't blame him, since Max had been hit thanks to his carelessness, but he was going to set it right. He held his ground and shrugged Tyson off when the shorter boy tried to separate him from Max.

"I am not 'picking on' him," Kai ground out between clenched teeth. "I'm trying to help." He was being calm, Kai forcefully reminded himself. He ran his thumb over Max's captive wrist, trying to tell him it would be okay. The message obviously didn't get through, and Kai couldn't bring himself to say it in words in case it wasn't true.

"Max, can you open your eyes?"

"Don't open your eye. You'll get blood in it."

Max tried to obey both of them at once, opening his right eye just enough to squint at Kai while keeping the other shut. Even like this, Max's one bright eye showed a sort of unconditional trust that made Kai's stomach roll uncomfortably.

"Is it really bleeding?"

"Yeah, does it hurt?" Since he couldn't physically get rid of Kai, Tyson settled for putting a friendly arm around Max and stealing his attention.

"No," Max insisted.

Kai didn't care what either of them said. He wasn't letting Max go as long as there was blood on his face. Luckily Ray made it back with a washcloth and the first aid kit before he and Tyson started fighting seriously over Max.

Now that Max had stopped trying to touch, Kai released his wrists and took the washcloth from Ray. He cupped the back of Max's head with his free hand to hold him in place, then moved close to blot the blood from his face. He didn't want to risk pressing too hard on Max's closed eye.

Soon enough Kai uncovered a slanting cut just below the arch of Max's eyebrow. It didn't look very deep, but he kept having to press the washcloth over it to keep blood from trickling down over Max's eyelid. Max wasn't bleeding from anywhere else that he could see.

"Now you can open your eye," Kai told him, keeping the washcloth pressed over the cut.

Max did as he asked, and Kai didn't think he'd ever been so glad to look into Max's bright blue eyes. Even though Max's eyes were noticeably damp, and there was a slight bruising already starting to show around the left one, Kai couldn't see any lasting damage.

Kai let go of the back of Max's head and cupped his hand carefully over Max's unhurt eye.

"Can you see me alright?"

"Uh-huh."

"Tell me honestly, does it hurt?"

"No! I don't know why I can't stop-" Max interrupted himself to forcefully blink back tears, his face getting a shade redder as he did.

"You just got hit in the face. Of course your eyes're watering."

How could Max be embarrassed about such a stupid thing when he'd been worried that he'd put Max's eye out? Kai would have liked to be exasperated, but all he could feel was pure relief. Without thinking, Kai wiped away the tears threatening to escape Max's eyes, then rubbed away the bloody tear-track with his thumb. He couldn't stop looking into Max's eyes, trying to convince himself that it was a small injury and everything was obviously fine.

Kai didn't think to move away until Tyson elbowed him in the side to make him relinquish his grip on Max. As the world outside of Max came back into focus, he noticed Ray had been rummaging for some kind of bandage to put over the cut until it stopped bleeding. Kenny was trying to explain the situation to Hilary, who Kai thought sounded unreasonably upset for finding out that Max had been hit in the eye after they knew that he was fine.

"Kai? Where are you going?" Ray wanted to know when Kai detached himself from the group and headed for the door.

"To get him an ice pack."

The last thing Kai wanted was to be interrogated, but Ray followed him anyway. He left Tyson to help Max bandage his cut, not that being unable to see what he was doing was stopping Max from trying to do it himself.

"Are you okay?"

Kai made himself busy fishing around in the freezer for an ice pack and sharply deflected the question without looking around. "Shouldn't you be worried about Max?"

"I am worried about Max, but that doesn't mean I can't check on you," Ray informed him. "You've been really intense lately. Like when you took on that Kit guy at the training center before, and now today. If you need to blow off steam, that's one thing-"

"Do you think I hit him on purpose?" Kai snarled, his hand clenching painfully hard around the ice pack he had found. The relief he had felt at seeing Max's eye unhurt was slipping away from him by the second. Now that he no longer needed to keep a cool head to take care of Max he found a well of anger pushing up inside of him.

"Of course I don't. Do you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you could've seen the look on your face when you saw him bleeding. . ." Ray sighed and changed tack, apparently reading the tension building up in Kai. "I'm not trying to start a fight with you. It just seems like you're under a lot of pressure. Whether you want us to help you or give you more space, you need to tell us. I know it's hard for you to run off when you want to be alone out here."

Kai didn't want to answer. He pushed the freezer door closed and leaned on it for a moment, tensing along his shoulders and down his arms so that he wouldn't give in to the anger churning up inside of him and lash out. He had learned this self-control long ago, and he wouldn't lose it now.

Ray matched his silence, letting him stew until he was ready to talk.

"I lost my focus. He never would have been hit if I had been concentrating on the match, and because I slipped up I could have put his eye out." There was nothing else to be said. The hot band of anger tightening around Kai's chest was directed only towards himself, for what he might have done to Max. "I love his eyes," Kai muttered.

Ray didn't have a response for that. Max might have tried to touch him in sympathy, and Tyson would have tried to shake some sense into him, but Ray didn't even need to reach out to him. His company alone was like a hand at Kai's back, steadying him and draining some of the tense heat from his anger. The silence between them was familiar to the point of being comfortable, but Ray's waiting presence still nagged at Kai until he had pulled himself together enough to speak once again.

"Was that what you wanted to hear?"

"What do you mean, 'was that what I wanted to hear?' It was an accident. It happens. Max's eye is fine, and you know he won't even be mad at you. So what are you really beating yourself up over?"

Kai shook his head. Ray should understand. He was always searching for the same finely-tuned control that Kai desired. They were the same in that respect, weren't they? Except now Kai was losing his hard-won control over the tiniest things.

"You're right. I need to be alone for a while." Kai pressed the ice pack into Ray's hand. "Give this to Max. Tell him he won the match."

"I think it was a draw, actually."

"No. Dranzer definitely left the dish first. It's his win." Kai wasn't giving Max anything out of pity. He'd earned that victory by being the one not to lose his head, and he would have it.

Without giving Ray a chance to corner him with more questions, Kai fled the kitchen and went directly out, not even slowing as he stepped into his shoes. He knew perfectly well Max wouldn't blame him. That was just how Max was. It was his own personal condemnation that he needed to clear out of his head so that he could think. After today, Kai suspected he needed time to think long and hard about a lot of things.

Kai had always been able to think better outside, especially when he gave himself a little distance from the problem he was focusing on. The fresh air on his face was better than any sympathetic ear. Any moment now the wind would whip away his tumultuous thoughts of Max and the chill would calm him back to the point where his good sense would return.

There was no one here to goad or distract him but himself. For a moment Kai turned his eyes down the road, to a turning so faint it was more remembered than seen, and the path he sometimes took when Max didn't follow along with him. He didn't steer his steps that way today. He was alone for once, and right now he wanted to stay that way.

Max might not be physically following him, but Kai had less success banishing the enthusiastic blader from his head. Without him noticing, Max had become the focus of more and more of his thoughts. What he had dismissed as being protective of his youngest teammate, which was a reasonable reaction, was getting out of hand.

Kai had thought he was simply letting all of his teammates's voices through the mental filter that was meant to keep him focused on his matches, but now he realized it was Max more than anyone else. Max's voice had been impossible to ignore, even when he wasn't addressing Kai. When he had faced down Max there was no distraction to rival him.

Well, they were on the same team, Kai tried to reason. Max was as close as he let anyone get to him. It was natural to pay some attention to Max, and to want to care for him when he was hurt. Kai would look after the others the same way. Probably. Unless they brought it on themselves and really needed the lesson or something.

Max would have insisted he didn't need such special treatment, but he was too nice for his own good sometimes. He kept forgiving people for things Kai would have marked down with eternal suspicion. He would forgive Kai now without the slightest hesitation, and knowing that only made Kai turn more anger on himself to make up the difference. He wouldn't let anyone get off lightly after harming Max, especially not himself.

For some time now he had been avoiding thinking about it, but Kai was aware that the intensity of his feelings towards Max was not normal. Some of the thoughts drifting through his head were not normal for him at any intensity.

Kai couldn't deny being suddenly struck and destabilized by the thought that Max was. . . attractive. Or at least there was something appealing in the focused energy and stance he had during a match. Determined yet obviously enjoying himself, that was the impression Kai always had. Before he could stop himself, Kai remembered Max's sneaky admirer making a similar comment, though Kai had disregarded it as a cheap trick to shock and distract Max at the time. Kai wanted to think he was just somehow appreciating the way Max was during a battle. A little twisted, maybe, but not an obsession with Max by any means.

Even as he struggled for benign explanations to his own wild thoughts, Kai realized there was no telling how long he would have kept staring into Max's eyes if Tyson hadn't snapped him out of it. It wasn't just relief, though that certainly played a part. It was Max's eyes on him in return. It was the subtle shift of his expression from embarrassment to acceptance.

The importance of what he had said to Ray suddenly struck home. What had he been thinking to say that out loud? If he loved Max's eyes it was only because he'd been threatened with the thought of losing them, both in his nightmares and in the training accident today.

In spite of the fresh air and quiet and the solitude he so desperately needed, Kai couldn't seem to calm himself. There was a sickening tension in his stomach, a sour tang in the back of his throat, and an almost painful feeling of angry heat crawling under his skin. He was strangely tempted to relish the discomfort, to wallow in his own condemnation, but he knew better than to allow anything so self-destructive.

Kai pulled himself around with a mental jerk. What had happened was an accident, Ray was right about that much. It had been entirely his fault for losing focus, and so it was his responsibility to set things right and be sure his carelessness didn't bring harm to Max again. He was not going to be able to do that by drowning himself in guilt. It had to be a matter of regaining his self-control.

Just thinking of Max almost made him feel worse. Each thought kept feeding into a spiral of anger so powerful he was swept up in the physical reaction of it even as he tried to force calm. Was it guilt fogging his thoughts? It was as if there was something in the back of his mind that wanted to reject Max, but Kai knew himself better than to believe that. More likely it was some irrational instinct that he didn't deserve the forgiveness Max would unthinkingly give him. Maybe he didn't deserve a thing from Max, but to push him away would only serve to hurt him. Kai would not do that intentionally.

No matter how he tried to smother the thought, there was no denying that Max was very important to him. The fact had snuck up on him somehow, much the same way as it had surprised him when he had originally become attached to his teammates. Now Kai found himself blind sided by the comfort of Max's voice pushing away dark thoughts in the middle of the night. More than that, the intense rush of relief when Max's eyes had opened and focused on his less than an hour ago might have been the only moment of peace he had felt all day.

There was a small part of Kai that even wished Max had followed him out here. Even if Max's presence made him completely unable to think, he had a feeling it would somehow soothe the anger that kept nipping at him. Even after taking time to sort through his thoughts his face still felt hot with emotion.

Irritated with himself, Kai paused to wash his face with a handful of snow, as if cooling his skin would also put his erratic temper to rest. It wasn't until then that he realized that he had stormed outside without either coat or gloves. At the moment the sun was warm enough to leave the snow damp and slushy, and he hadn't even felt the wind on his bare arms, but it was still too cold to be doing such a stupid thing. He knew better than this! Had he really been so caught up in one unreasonable reaction after another that he had failed to notice?

Kai still didn't feel particularly cold even after realizing his situation, which was no comfort against what felt like shocking stupidity. He tucked his hands under his arms and retraced his steps back to the center immediately.

Making it back with his temper a little cooled by the weather if nothing else, Kai still wasn't ready to join the others at their training. He watched from the doorway to the training area for a moment, his gaze fixing immediately on Max. It was just to make sure that Max was all right. To prove it, Kai tore his attention away from Max once he was sure his obsession had suffered no permanent damage.

When he quickly directed his attention towards his other teammates he found Ray was visibly tense, obviously unsettled about something. As soon as he looked up at Kai he seemed to relax significantly. Kai wouldn't have been surprised if Ray had noticed him being so stupid as to run off without his coat.

The look Tyson gave him was refreshing in contrast. He might have been mirroring Kai's thoughts, expecting that Kai should be back to normal now. He jerked his head in a gesture for Kai to come join them.

Kai retreated from the training area back into the common room and set himself gracelessly down on the couch. Once he finally let go of the tension that had been carrying him, he found himself completely worn out. It didn't help that he had slept badly again the night before, waking before dawn feeling as exhausted as if he had literally spent the whole night running from his personal demon instead of simply dreaming it.

It didn't take long for Kai's mental exhaustion to catch up with him. He slumped against the armrest, and for a little while at least there was nothing left to distract him.

* * *

Kai was definitely acting strangely. Max had thought they were having a great time, right up until their match had ended in a draw (he still thought it had looked like a draw no matter what Ray said) and he had been hit in the face. It was just an accident, but Kai had reacted badly and run off immediately after making sure Max's eye wasn't injured. Even when he finally came back it was just to lurk in the doorway for a few seconds and then disappear again.

At the moment Max didn't quite want to face him either. The memory of being pinned in place by Kai's stare, and having Kai wipe away the tears he hadn't been able to help, still made him want to squirm in embarrassment. Max was determined to not think about it for as long as he could get away with, hopefully until everyone else had forgotten as well.

If he didn't want to think about Kai at all, he was pretty well sabotaging himself. Kai had left Dranzer behind, and he still hadn't come to retrieve his beyblade. Max had discovered that at some point during their match one of the hooks on Kai's attack ring had been badly damaged.

He was probably stuck taking a break from training for the rest of the day, or at least until everyone forgot about his accident, so Max didn't have anything to do except fiddle with Dranzer. After some wheedling he'd convinced Kenny to let him help with the repairs. Then again, maybe Kenny was still annoyed because he'd insisted on picking up some spare parts that could be modified to fit Kai's blade. He had echoed the same response Kai had given when Max first showed him the parts, that if Max wanted to spend his time modifying them that was up to him. Max was grateful to have something to keep his hands busy.

He still didn't have much experience working on anyone's blade except his own, and it made him nervous to have Kai's blade carefully disassembled and arranged in front of him without Kai there. He had set Draciel next to the chip that held Dranzer, as if the presence of his own bitbeast might somehow help show Kai's that he would take good care of her home.

As long as his hands were busy, Max felt almost meditative. He watched Tyson and Ray working on their own training, and listened to Kenny chatting happily to Hilary, and thought of nothing in particular. Even the thought that Kai might be using a beyblade that he had contributed to was a quietly pleasant one, instead of driving him mad with wild stomach butterflies.

Max ran his fingers over each edge of Kai's damaged ring, as well as the modified replacement, trying to tell by feel if he was finished. His fingers were so coated with fine dust from filing that his grip was becoming slippery. Max wiped his fingers on his shorts and tried again, feeling carefully for the slightest bump or flaw.

"Hey, Chief, could you scan this for me?" Max asked Kenny, taking advantage of a lull in the conversation next to him as Hilary paused to yawn. He wanted to be sure Kai's blade would be perfect.

"Oh, sure. Are you done already?"

"I think so. Could you check?"

"Is Kai still not back? I can't wait up for him any longer," Hilary yawned again.

"I don't think he's coming back. You might as well get some sleep. What time is it there?"

"Late enough for a school night. Goodnight, you guys. Don't beat each other up too much, okay?" Hilary gave them a playfully stern look which prompted a sheepish laugh from Kenny in the midst of the team's answering chorus of 'goodnight!'

"Goodnight, Dizzi. Thanks for letting me share your screen. And thank you again for helping me set this up," this directed at Kenny. "I never would've thought I'd miss seeing the crazy things you guys get up to!"

Once Hilary had logged off the normal display on Kenny's computer snapped back to fill the full screen. Dizzi let out a computerized sigh. "Ah. . . It's good to stretch out again."

"Okay, Max, did you just want to check if it's the same as the old attack ring or are you trying to upgrade it?" Kenny asked. He was suddenly very focused on bringing up the scanning programs on his computer, his face tilted down to help his overlong bangs hide his face.

"Just make sure it's the same as the old one was. Um. . . thanks for letting me do this." Max rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I really needed something to do with myself or I was gonna go crazy."

"Don't mention it," Kenny told him, so focused on what he was doing he probably didn't even notice Max's fidgeting. "It just seemed like you really wanted to do it, that's all."

That was an understatement. There had been begging involved on Max's part, and many a wary reminder that this was a relatively new design and nothing like Max's blade. None of that mattered now, of course. Max was confident he was close to a complete fix.

"Yeah," Max agreed, watching the scan. "I really did want to, just this once."

Kenny's final analysis was that he was a close as they were going to get with the tools at hand, leaving Max free to reassemble Kai's blade.

Max had been hoping Kai would at least come back for Dranzer, even if he didn't want to be around the rest of them. The fact that he hadn't made Max worry that something was really wrong. Now that he was out of distractions, Max began to think that he needed to do something more than wait.

"I should go find Kai. I'm sure he'll want Dranzer back already."

"I still don't see why you're doing a favor for the sourpuss," Tyson put in, plopping himself down next to Max. Kai's disappearance had really gotten on his nerves for some reason. He seemed to take it as a personal insult, and he'd been in a bad mood every time it came up since.

"I just wanted something to do," Max explained. It was true, but he left out the fact that he would have wanted to fix Kai's blade anyway, just because it was Kai's. He was pretty sure saying that would only annoy Tyson further.

Max didn't understand why Tyson was so irritated with Kai all of a sudden. It wasn't unusual to see them snap at each other occasionally, of course. Max suspected that was inevitable when putting two very strong and competitive personalities in such a small space with limited ways to let off steam. Until today their differences had been mostly limited to–and settled in–the beydish.

What had happened today that was so different? The only thing they had butted heads over that Max knew of had been his own accidental injury, but now Tyson was holding a grudge as if Kai had leveled a personal insult at Dragoon.

"Hasn't he been a total jerk to you lately?"

"Well. . . not really." Max didn't quite want to come out and say that Kai was being perfectly nice to him. Tyson always insisted their small arguments were all Kai's fault, and suggesting that Kai was getting along with everyone but Tyson would probably only make him madder.

"But he's after you all the time! It's like he's waiting for you to screw up so he can jump on you. Back me up here, Ray, you must've noticed it too."

"Hm," was all Ray had to say on the subject. He had stayed a little apart with his arms folded tight against his stomach, and he looked distinctly uncomfortable. It was strange he didn't want to weigh in. Ray had even mentioned before that Kai was acting differently, especially toward Max, though he'd definitely had a different take on it than Tyson.

"He hasn't been picking on me at all," Max tried to reassure his fuming friend. He actually felt more like Kai was being protective of him, which he didn't think he really needed, but it was good to see Kai caring so much about his role as their captain. . . and it was a guilty pleasure to feel as if Kai cared about him as well. He was definitely keeping that to himself.

"So he's not harassing you?"

"No!"

"I still think he's more of a grouch than usual."

"It's probably just because he hasn't been sleeping," Max argued, before he could think not to say it. He didn't realize until the words were out of his mouth that all the times he'd run into Kai in the middle of the night were a secret that he didn't want to share with anyone, not even Tyson.

"How do you know that?"

"Well. . . he's always up at the crack of dawn, and his eyes are all red half the time, and he keeps going off to take naps."

Tyson took that at face value, thankfully, and Max escaped in search of Kai before he let anything else slip.

Kai hadn't run out again. Max found that the reason he hadn't joined them was because he had fallen asleep on the couch, which only further supported Max's reasoning that his temper came from being badly rested. Max was reluctant to wake him when he looked so peaceful.

As Max lingered, hanging on the back of the couch to watch Kai in case he decided to wake up, he noticed a bruise on Kai's neck, the edge of it showing over his high collar. He had thought Draciel had hit Kai, but he hadn't gotten a chance to ask. He winced in sympathy, because apparently Draciel was heavy enough to leave quite a mark.

His first idea was to go get the bruise ointment out of the first aid kit. Kenny had been adamant about not putting anything so close to Max's eye, but there would be no problem using it on Kai.

When he had fetched the ointment, Kai was still napping. Max hesitated, watching him with the tube of ointment in one hand and Dranzer in the other. He really didn't want to wake Kai up if he was that tired.

Deciding that he could wait for Kai to wake up if he really wanted to talk to him, Max settled down beside him on the couch.

He picked up one of the magazines on the table and flipped through it at random, looking for something he hadn't read. Unfortunately, no interesting new articles had materialized since the last time he had tried that, not in any of the magazines scattered around the room.

Kai was still asleep. Max would have woken him up out of sheer boredom if not for the fact that it was so rare to see him looking this peaceful.

With nothing else to do, Max entertained himself trying to get Draciel spinning on in his palm, and then balanced on one finger. Draciel was impeccably balanced, but trying to spin on a narrow, soft fingertip was tricky. He was actually getting the hang of it when he was interrupted.

"So here's where you went," Ray said, leaning over the back of the couch between them to talk to Kai. He looked at Kai for a moment before turning to Max instead. "Is he really asleep?"

"I think so." Max remembered Ray taking him aside before their disastrous match to warn him about Kai's mood. (Max had already noticed that Kai seemed stressed, although his attempts to lighten the mood with some lively commentary apparently hadn't helped.) Ray could often pick out clues that Max missed. "Do you know what's going on with Kai?"

Ray definitely looked uncomfortable as he shook his head negative, but Max couldn't tell why. They both looked over at Kai, as if he would offer an explanation. Kai didn't so much as stir, his breathing deep and even and not giving up a word of his secrets.

"Maybe just cabin fever or something," Ray finally offered.

"Yeah. I was thinking maybe we need to give him more space, but I wanted make sure he got Dranzer back."

"That's a good idea," Ray agreed. "It should probably be you, anyway." He kept looking between them, as if checking if Kai was awake yet. Max was surprised to see his normally cool-headed teammate so flustered about something when he couldn't even see the problem.

"Max, you should know. . ."

"Hm?" Max tried to encourage Ray. If Ray had any extra information he definitely wanted it.

Ray glanced sideways at Kai once again, and Max was pretty sure he had just thought better of whatever he was going to say.

"Just make sure he knows that accident wasn't his fault, okay?"

"Well, sure. Of course it wasn't." Max hadn't even thought such a thing needed saying.

Ray didn't offer up any more information, though Max suspected he could have really used some. Instead he clasped Max's shoulder for a second and left him to watch over Kai.

He didn't have long to wait. Almost as soon as Ray was out of the room, Kai opened his eyes.

"Hey. Did we disturb you?" Max was tempted to ask if Kai had been awake the whole time just listening to them, but if Ray could be sneaky then so could he. Kai didn't need to know they had been talking about him.

"No." Kai still looked groggy and bleary-eyed and it almost made Max want to laugh at the sight. Kai was adorably cranky when he was woken up from a nap. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long. I brought you Dranzer," Max placed the blade in Kai's waiting hand with care. "I had to modify a new attack ring for you, so make sure the repairs are all right. Do you want to have a rematch with me later?" Max suggested hopefully.

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"You know, what happened before wasn't your fault."

"Ray told you to say that."

"That doesn't mean it's not true!" Max protested, leaning closer to Kai, even as he was blasted by an icy look that plainly told him to stay out of Kai's personal space. "You even got hit too! I can see the bruise."

Kai put one hand to his throat, confirming for Max that Draciel had caused that bruise.

"I got this for you," Max added, suddenly remembering the bruise ointment he had fetched for Kai. He held it up, feeling pleased with himself.

Kai looked into his face for a moment, and Max could have sworn Kai was about to take it, but in the end he turned away again.

"I don't need it."

"What, after you made such a fuss over me?" Max protested.

Kai didn't dignify that with a response, but gave Max a look beneath lowered brows as if he was crazy for comparing those two things. That only irritated Max more.

"Come on, Kai. It was Draciel that hit you, so I'm responsible."

Kai was just sitting there with his arms crossed, having apparently decided to impersonate a statue. Max had more experience than he could have ever wanted with this attitude from Kai, and was not about to be put off that easily.

"If you don't want to take care of yourself, I'll do it for you."

Kai was still ignoring him, and the offer quickly became a threat.

"I'm serious. I'll do it."

Max was about to pull the loose collar of Kai's shirt down when something occurred to him. "You don't like having your neck touched. Is that why you didn't want this stuff? You'll be mad if I try to put it on for you, right?"

At least that got Kai to look at him, but Max couldn't tell what Kai wanted. It was all he could do not to squirm under that scrutiny.

"No," Kai finally told him in a low voice.

"Huh?" Max drew his arm back, thinking Kai was telling him to back off.

"No, I won't be mad at you."

"Oh. I thought you wouldn't want me to. . . I'll be really careful, okay?" Max promised.

Kai gave him a stiff nod, and Max stopped to squeeze a little of the bruise ointment onto his fingers. He carefully pulled down the open collar of Kai's shirt to reveal the bruise, which was no bigger than his beyblade, but had bloomed a nasty shade of purple.

The first touch made Kai hiss through his teeth and jerk away. Max froze guiltily.

"Sorry. What's wrong? Is it too cold?"

Kai didn't give him an answer, so Max tried to warm the ointment with his hands before reaching for Kai a second time.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Okay," Kai agreed.

He was looking right into Max's face, so that Max felt he was pinned in place. He couldn't look at anything but his target as he touched his hand to Kai's neck.

This time Kai didn't flinch, but Max tried to keep his touch light. He rubbed ointment over the bruise as carefully as he possibly could, letting the path of his fingers slowly spiral outward to touch the unmarked parts of Kai's neck.

Slowly growing more daring, Max dipped his fingers low enough to find the junction between neck and shoulder. Then he let his fingers trail up again, each pass delicately rubbing ointment into the bruise without pressing on it. He felt Kai's pulse jump under his fingers, and his own heart was pounding in response. It was the thrill of doing something he was sure Kai would never let anyone else do, something almost intimate.

He heard a sharp breath from Kai, but instead of being pushed away he found Kai's hand on his face. Kai was just checking the faint bruising around his eye, but Max still felt a thrill shiver through him when Kai's palm cupped his cheek, thumb stroking softly over his cheekbone.

Even as he was struggling to keep his attention on Kai's bruise, Max couldn't help leaning his face into Kai's hand. No matter how sure he was that the giddy happiness he felt being around Kai was an honest crush, he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it. He didn't know how to tell Kai. He couldn't act on it unless he told Kai. He shouldn't keep greedily soaking up Kai's attention in secret.

Max found he wanted to say something, to give voice to a confession of just how much he liked Kai. In this sort of personal anything-might-happen moment, it almost seemed possible. Maybe, if he could find exactly the right way to say it, Kai would accept him. Obviously they had a deep enough connection to fight for each other and care for each other, and maybe that was amazing enough that he shouldn't get greedy. But Kai had wanted to touch him, and Max knew him well enough to understand how rare that was. Maybe it wasn't impossible to hope that Kai would accept him. For all he knew Kai might even tell him that of course he felt the same, wasn't it obvious? And then Max would be too happy to even feel stupid for waiting so long.

Slowly Max drew back his hand, leaving most of the ointment worked into Kai's skin.

"Crazy day, huh?" Max said weakly.

Kai's hand trailed down his cheek and fell to rest on his shoulder, not demanding anything of Max but giving him an excuse to stay close.

"Max," Kai's voice settled over him, leaving him holding his breath. Maybe it was his anticipation, but Kai seemed to pause before speaking, though his words didn't sound like they needed to be carefully chosen. "I want a rematch with you."

"Really? Alright!" That broke the tension in Max's stomach in what had to be the best way possible. He practically jumped off of the couch, unable to contain himself. "Let's do it right now so you can test out the repairs to your blade!"

Kai was almost smiling. Max got the feeling he had amused Kai, but he didn't mind. Kai was back to his usual self. Surely that meant everything was good again.


	11. Chapter 11

Finally I can post a new chapter! I don't want to spoil too much, but this has some bits I've been all excited about getting to for a long time, so I hope you will enjoy it too! I have been working on bits and pieces of the next several chapters, so while I know I'll just jinx myself if I promise I'll post them by whatever date, I can at least promise I'm still working on this fic and I'm not letting it die any time soon.

As ever, so many thanks are needed for my wonderful beta, slr2moons, who not only took time to help me with editing this chapter, but once again had to tell me to stop fussing over it and post already! Thanks to her, these are coming out even quicker than they would be otherwise.

I also want to say thank you to everyone who has kept reading, and especially the kind people who even take the time to review! You all inspire me to keep writing this to the very end and to turn out the best chapters I possibly can. Internet hugs all around!

* * *

Their enforced isolation at the training center left Max longing for more diverse challenges, but at least they weren't lacking in ways to communicate with the outside world. They had the phones, and could route letters through Mr. Dickenson. Then there was the one working computer in what had been the staff break room, which was enough to keep up with a few friends through email.

All of them had email accounts through the BBA, though Kai had ignored his for half a year while the team was separated until Max resorted to sending him a physical letter. (He didn't even know how many forwarding addresses it had needed to be routed through, but the response had taken over a month.) As of yet computer privileges were almost the only thing they hadn't argued over, since the only computer person had brought his own.

The best thing for Max was the ability to get emails from his mother, since they only managed to snatch a few minutes a week to talk on the phone. Max would print them out and take them back to his room so he could read them in private, especially when she sent him independent study work. He also appreciated being able to keep up with friends and getting some idea how other teams were shaping up in preparation for this year's championships while they were on their own training break.

Kit was quickly becoming one of those long-distance friends. His team had left Russia the day after Max saw him at the training center, and he was keeping Max updated on their progress while teasing Max about being hidden away for training. His information wasn't just statistics and new team announcements that Kenny could download and share with the others if they were sufficiently interesting, but things like budding rivalries, off-the-record grudge matches, and unspoken alliances. It wasn't as good as being out there himself, but Max enjoyed hearing about it.

So far Kit hadn't tried to bring up any uncomfortable subjects, at least not on purpose. Max got the impression that he was waiting for their rematch, or at least to meet in person, before returning to the subject of his own confession. Or maybe he had taken what Max said before to heart and was getting to know him first.

He had kindly refrained from pestering Max to respond to his crush, but this new email held something just as awkward. Among his news and friendly chatter was an innocent request. 'Can you tell that surly team captain of yours that I want a rematch? I'm training hard so I can be ready for both of you.'

Max didn't know what to say. He had gotten the feeling that Kai didn't like Kit very much, and didn't want to antagonize him. Besides that, there was no way he could explain to Kit why the thought of them fighting made him uncomfortable.

Of course Kai had the impeccable timing to come looking for him at just that moment. Max had made an idiot of himself trying to cover the computer screen with his hands to hide the text of the email from Kai.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Max tried to laugh it off. "Nothing at all."

Kai just looked at him through half-lidded eyes and let out a low breath as if his antics weren't worth decoding. "Lunch break is over," he reminded Max, before leaving him alone.

Max sighed in relief as he let his hands drop. When Tyson bounded in a minute later to see what was taking him so long, at least he didn't have to hide anything.

"What's up? Aren't you coming? Kai said you were looking at something weird on the computer."

"Kit just emailed to ask for a rematch with Kai." Max tapped thoughtfully at the edge of the keyboard without actually typing anything. "I don't know what to say. It seemed like they really didn't get along. Do you think it'd make Kai mad?"

"Nah. Just tell Kai the guy wants a rematch. Worst he can do is pull out his whole, 'I defeated him once, so now he's not good enough for me,' routine."

"I don't know." Max wavered. Maybe he was just reading too much into things. Kai had gotten really into their battle before. Maybe he would even like a rematch. Yet Max had never quite shaken the feeling of wrongness from that match, and didn't want to repeat whatever it was. He closed his email and rose to join Tyson, still unsure how he wanted to reply. "I'll think about it."

* * *

It was Tyson who finally set him off.

Kai wasn't even angry with Tyson. Sure, they had argued the day before about some stupid thing or another, and the day before that, and earlier in the morning, but each time Kai thought he had kept himself under control. That control lasted right up until Tyson somehow found exactly the right pressure point.

"You know, you should start taking challenges more often. It might help take the edge off. Like that guy you scorched last week. He told Max he wanted a rematch."

"You mean Kit. When was he talking to Max?"

"Oh yeah, they're email friends or something now," Tyson said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It should have been nothing but a flash of protective anger, maybe a little irritation that the cocky blader was still after Max even after the lesson Kai had given out specifically to warn him off. But then there was the thought that Max hadn't mentioned being in contact with Kit. That smug bastard was going behind his back to draw Max away from the team, and now he dared to challenge Kai again. If he wanted to turn this into a fight over Max, Kai would not lose.

That spark of anger set off something inside of him that Kai hadn't known was there. For an instant it was like before, his eyes going unfocused as the unplanned rage pounded in his ears, cutting off the world.

The fury wasn't enough of a shock for Kai to lose himself completely this time. He wrenched his mind away from the void of unthinking rage, fingernails digging into his palms.

"What the hell, Kai!?" Tyson shouted.

The yell snapped Kai back into focus to realize that Dranzer was close to blazing out of control. The heat from those flames was beating against Kai's face as Dranzer reared up and stretched ragged wings to fill his field of vision. It felt as if instead of moving to his unreasonable whims, she was trying to shield him from his own temper.

Kai tried to rein himself back in, and for an instant there were black spots dancing in front of his eyes from the effort. There was an acrid taste burning at the back of his throat. Kai fought not to double over in a coughing fit, feeling for an instant as if he was about to be violently ill. Something was prickling along his skin, so white-hot it might have been freezing him. Backlash wasn't supposed to feel like this.

While Kai was distracted, Tyson had dodged around Dranzer's flames to thump him hard on the back, reminding him to breathe. There was a warm breeze on his face. Dragoon was blowing Dranzer's warmth over him like the last gentle gasp of a dying storm. Then both of their beyblades were spinning out together as the flames finally died down.

"You okay?"

Kai managed a stiff nod, which set his head throbbing. When he didn't keel over or anything drastic, Tyson started questioning him in earnest.

"What was that all about? Is he like your mortal enemy or something?"

"No, I barely met him."

"Well, you had that same look as when you tried to torch him before."

"I don't like him," Kai allowed, grudgingly.

"You 'don't like' a lot of people, but you usually don't. . . y'know, **fwomph**," Tyson pointed out, throwing his hands apart in an imitation of the fireball Dranzer had become.

Kai couldn't concentrate. There was something buzzing in the back of his brain, nagging at him. He shouldn't be this angry. He wasn't happy that his warning hadn't made Kit back off, but the violence of his reaction took even him by surprise. One little spark and, 'fwompf,' as Tyson had put it. It was still there, smoldering away and making it impossible to think rationally.

There was no reason for him to react that way. Yes, Kit hadn't had the sense to back off, but it wasn't like Max was so vulnerable that Kit would be able to harm him before they could intervene. He had never explicitly told Max to stay away from Kit, either.

Maybe he could be angry because he suspected that Max had tried to hide Kit's persistence from him, but not like this. This was a sick heat pushing at him so hard that it almost seemed to be an outside force.

Max chose that moment to come bounding in, all spirited energy.

"Hey, Tyson! Hey, Kai, did you-"

"No," Kai snapped.

He didn't realize he'd said it out loud until Tyson snorted, "Chill out already," at him. He had both hands clenched into fists, refusing to let his barely controlled rage swing around at Max.

Before Kai could get away Max was there–right in his escape path–laying a concerned hand on his arm. He still held Draciel in his other hand, as if he was getting ready for a battle, but his attention was suddenly focused on Kai.

Kai darted his eyes away from Max's face, trying to look at anything else. Draciel's talisman was surprisingly bright, catching the light at just the right angle so that it glowed in Max's hand.

"Are you all right?"

And just like that, he was. He had a headache for a souvenir, and he felt unsteady and lightheaded, but the roiling anger had tamped down under Max's touch. All that was left was his original twinge of irritation, and that was utterly trivial now.

Max had done something. What he had done, Kai had no idea, but he had no doubt that it was Max's work. It almost seemed that Max had calmed his unthinking anger with nothing more than a simple touch to his arm and a few words of soft-hearted concern.

He needed Max. The thought bubbled up without warning, completely unfamiliar and yet so sure that he couldn't begin to doubt it.

"Hello? What is up with you two?" Tyson interrupted.

Only then did Kai realize he and Max had been staring at each other in silence. He must have been glaring or something without meaning to, because Max's cheeks were getting red. Kai tried to force his face into a kinder expression so that Max would know he wasn't angry. Even with his head pounding with building agony, the fact that Max had taken the anger away for him was pure bliss.

Unfortunately he must not have managed a believable smile. Max's face went even redder, and he ducked his head to break their silent gaze. Kai was suddenly aware that he wanted Max to understand how important he was.

He couldn't explain this in front of Tyson and Ray. He doubted his ability to even explain it to Max, but he needed to try.

"I need to talk to you later, alone."

Max agreed easily. His smile wasn't quite so blinding that Kai didn't notice the confused frowns he was getting from their other teammates, but he didn't mind. As long as he had Max with him, Kai dared to think he had a chance to triumph over himself.

* * *

"Do you have any idea what Kai wants to talk to you about?" Ray asked.

Kai had gone off somewhere yet again, and the minute they were sure he wasn't coming straight back, Ray had defaulted to the subject of their temperamental friend.

Max paused to think, though he'd been turning the words over in his head since Kai had said them. He still didn't know what it was all about. He knew what he might like Kai to be talking about, but that was only wishful thinking. He shook his head.

"He went all ballistic about Max being friends with Kit now," Tyson butted in helpfully, stepping in behind Ray. "I told him he's got no right to tell Max who he can't be friends with." Tyson crossed his arms to punctuate the statement, his stubborn mouth set in a way that promised he would help Max kick some sense into Kai if that was what their team captain had in mind.

"I thought you were doing the obstacle course," Ray commented on Tyson's interruption before asking, "Why would he have a problem with Max's friends?"

"They didn't get off to the best start, " Max admitted. "Kit kind of said some things to me, and Kai heard, and I think he misunderstood and got mad. He said it wasn't because of that, but. . ." Max shook his head at himself. There he was, jumping to conclusions again. "Maybe he was already in a bad mood when they faced off before? Did anything happen when you guys had that first match at the center to show off?"

"No, it was great!" Tyson enthused. "Kai kept looking up at the balcony or something, though. That was weird. He's usually right in the zone."

"What did Kit say that put him in a bad mood?" Ray asked, getting them back on track.

"Um. . ." Max hedged. "Just things like what he thought of me."

"What, like he said he hates your style or something?" Tyson burst out. "That jerk!"

Max blinked in surprise at the assumption. "What?"

"Obviously there was some trash-talk going on! No wonder Kai was pissed!"

"No, it was the opposite," Max tried to explain. "He said-"

"Where does Kai get off not telling the rest of us about that!?" Tyson ranted. "Especially me. I have first dibs on defending Max's honor, right?"

Max was struggling not to laugh, knowing it would only get Tyson even more riled up. "It's not like that! He was really nice. He's like a rival, now. I promised him a rematch, too." Tyson would understand the concept of a friendly rival, of course. Their team practically collected them.

"And you're okay with that?" Ray wanted to know.

"Yeah, of course."

Tyson looked back and forth between them. "Did I miss something?"

"Don't sweat it," Ray reassured him, "Why don't you go hit the obstacle course again? We're not going to let anyone keep Max from making friends."

"Aren't we brainstorming what to do about Kai? Because I'm not going anywhere."

"No, we're going to talk about boring stuff now."

"Uh-huh." Tyson leaned back on his heels, silently daring Ray to tell him to butt out.

At least Tyson had allowed himself to be convinced that no one was picking on Max. Ray was not so easily shaken off of the scent, not even by Tyson.

"So if I'm understanding this right, Kit said he likes you, and wants to be your rival or something," this with a sideways glance at Tyson that made Max think he knew what Kit had said far more accurately than he was letting on, "and Kai overheard and went a little crazy."

"He said it wasn't because of that. . ." Max quelled under the look Ray was giving him and confessed what little he knew. "I think he just thought Kit said it to throw me off during our battle, so that's why he was mad. That's all. It wasn't trash-talk or anything. It's all settled now, and I really don't know why he doesn't like me being friends with Kit."

"Why would that throw you off?" Tyson wanted to know.

"Just as a surprise, I guess." Max wasn't sure how to explain that Kit had something more than friends or rivals in mind, since Tyson obviously wasn't getting it. "So I'm fine with it, and there's no reason Kai should have a problem, either."

Ray sighed.

"What?" Max could swear that sounded like relief. Ray's usual poise actually relaxed for a moment, as if he had lost a weight off of his shoulders.

"I was just worried about something stupid." Ray smiled to himself, and Max frowned and exchanged a glance with Tyson, who was even more lost than he was. "You're all right. Looks like Kai's just jealous of this guy. That's all it is."

"Why would Kai be jealous? He won their match, remember?"

"I think Tyson's right. There isn't any reason for him to be jealous."

Ray didn't answer right away, and Max knew he had to be thinking of exactly how much he was going to let himself say. It was supremely unfair of him to have secrets after he had just been interrogating Max!

"You know how Kai has been lately?" Ray started to explain. "He's not sleeping and he's irritable, and just suggesting it makes him defensive. I don't know what's wrong, but it seems like you make it better, whatever it is that you do. So don't you think that the idea of you having a rival, or anyone who takes your time away from him, might make him jealous?"

"Wait, is that why Kai keeps hanging on Max?" Tyson interrupted.

"Yes," Max and Ray answered together. "Didn't you notice?" Ray added, momentarily turning away from scrutinizing Max.

"Yeah, well whenever he does that to me he's trying to catch me messing up so he can make a point! I thought that's what he was doing to Max."

"He only does that to you because you get so cocky whenever you invent a new move."

At that, Tyson quit the conversation and slouched back to the obstacle course, grumbling something to himself that sounded suspiciously like 'captain jerkbutt,' but Max wasn't paying attention. He was still thinking about what Ray had said.

"You really think I'm helping him that much?" It hadn't occurred to Max that he might be important enough that Kai wanted his help, especially to the point where he wouldn't want to share. Max thought he had more energy than Kai could stand most days. At best he had hoped he grated on Kai's nerves less than most company.

"That's what I think." Ray straightened his back, regaining his usual poise, and Max knew he wasn't going to get any more information. "You'll be friends with Kai no matter what, right?"

"Of course. I like Kai." Max's face choose that moment to betray him. He could feel his cheeks burning in nervous embarrassment, a glowing testament to exactly what he meant by 'like.' "I mean, we're good friends and all! At least, I think we get along well. I really like all of you guys," Max fumbled around, trying to cover.

Max looked around, staring very intently at anything other than Ray. If he didn't look directly at anyone, they somehow wouldn't notice how flaming red his face was getting.

Yet Ray didn't call him on his awkwardness.

"Hey, Max," Ray said, tricking Max into looking back around at him. Max was surprised to find him offering an enigmatic smile. "Go get 'em."

* * *

Kai was running.

He couldn't seem to remember how long he had been running, but every breath burned in his lungs. He had never thought he would run from a fight, but this was a fight he could never win. He had tried and failed so many times, and now even running was no longer an option as he stumbled, unable to feel his legs under him anymore.

"Kai!"

There was a hand reaching out to him. Kai looked up, dazed by the blood pounding in his ears, and saw Ray offering him a hand up. Somehow Kai managed to grasp at the solidity of Ray's hand. Ray hauled him back to his feet, and Kai felt as if strength was flowing back into his weakened body through the point of contact.

The next thing he knew, he was running again. Ray was pulling him by the hand and forcing him to find unknown strength. With Ray as his guiding lifeline, he thought for a moment they would make it. He didn't even know where he was trying to go, as long as it was far away. Somewhere Black Dranzer couldn't smother him.

It wasn't exhaustion that made Kai stumble again. Tendrils of black flame whipped around his ankles, so hot that they seemed to freeze him even as his skin charred black. His hand jerked out of Ray's grip as he fell.

He could hear Ray shouting when that black veil of fire and smoke fell over him.

Kai jolted awake as if Ray's shout had really landed in his ears. His own breathing sounded harsh, and his throat felt raw. He strained his ears in the silence, trying to calm a body still tensed to flee as in his dream, but there was no sound of another person in the room with him.

It took a moment for Kai to regain control of his limbs, to sit up and turn on the light. He was alone in his room. It was almost three in the morning, so of course there wouldn't be anyone else there. Of course there would be no one to hear his panicked gasping.

His throat and lungs felt more raw than during any training run. For a minute Kai doubled over coughing as if he really had been breathing smoke, further abusing his throat.

Once he had managed to catch his breath, swallowing painfully in an attempt to force down any further coughing fits, Kai dragged himself out of bed. A drink of cold water would help ease the raw feeling when he breathed, and a bit of cold air would clear the imaginary smoke from his head.

The training center would be dark and silent at this hour, but that had never bothered him before. Kai certainly didn't expect company.

* * *

Max had been a pretty heavy sleeper before, but now he found it was taking less and less to rouse him. Like now, just the lightest touch and he blinked his eyes open to find Kai paused in the action of putting a blanket over him.

"Mm. . ." Max rubbed his eyes as he sat up. "What time is it?"

"After three. I saw you go to bed, so what are you doing on the couch?"

"I was waiting for you to get up," Max blurted out. Sleep had apparently fogged up what little control his brain had over his mouth.

Kai turned his back on Max and started towards the door. "Just go to bed."

"Wait, where are you going?" Max scrambled off of the couch and followed after Kai, trying not to stumble over anything. His eyes still felt gummed with sleep, and he rubbed at them in an attempt to wake up.

"I'm going for a walk."

"Now? But it's the middle of the night!"

Great. Max knew he had pretty well lost his chance to talk to Kai tactfully. The least he could do was try to make himself clear.

"It seems like you're up almost every night lately, so I stayed up to check on you. If you want to be alone I'll leave you alone. You don't have to go running out in the cold in the middle of the night." Max had to stop and take a deep breath before finishing on a hopeful question, "Kai, can't I keep you company?"

Kai zipped up his coat, face turned stubbornly away so that Max thought he was being ignored. He was about to repeat his plea when Kai finally answered, "I'm just taking a walk to clear my head. You don't have to do anything."

Now that he felt less fogged with sleep, Max was sure Kai wasn't emanating the powerful 'back off' vibes he usually had when he wanted to be left alone. If anything he seemed weary.

"I'll come with you."

Max didn't think Kai would wait for him to change, so he pulled on his own coat and boots over his pajamas. He had grabbed Draciel from his spot on the couch and slipped the beyblade in one pocket out of habit. He found and donned the new gloves Kai had bought for him before he noticed the look Kai was giving him.

"I know I don't have to. I want to."

"Suit yourself."

With that they left, Max hurrying to stay at Kai's side. It was dead silent outside, without even a breeze to whisper over the snow. The sky was perfectly clear, and Max found himself distracted by the sharp sickle of moon lurking within a riot of stars.

He could only see the faint shape of Kai's profile at first in the starlight, but Max kept looking. He wanted to know what sort of expression would be on Kai's face now. He wanted to know what to say, or if he should speak up at all in the darkness.

They kept to the road this time, and Max was grateful to have a clear path. He was paying far more attention to his companion than where he was walking.

"Why were you waiting up for me?" Kai finally asked.

Max hadn't expected Kai to break the silence. He took a deep breath, trying to remember the little speech he had been planning out in his head before he fell asleep. "I'm worried about you. I mean, we all thought you were just an early riser before, but are you even sleeping at all these days? I know something's bothering you, but you don't want to talk about it. I'm not saying you have to tell me or anything. I know it's not okay, and that's enough. I just want to be there for you if I can help at all."

"You don't have to do anything for me."

"I want to," Max repeated. He had thought that much was obvious. "Even if all I can do is talk to you and take your mind off of the things bothering you, I want to do that."

The silence between them felt hollow, and Max wondered if he should have said something else to make Kai understand. Now that Max's eyes were adjusting to the light he noticed a faraway look in Kai's eyes, as if he wasn't seeing the road in front of him at all.

The dark bruises under Kai's eyes looked even more dramatic than usual as the faint moonlight washed the color from his face. Kai might appear as perfect and immovable as a statue, but he wasn't. Max knew he wasn't cold and solid stone inside. He wasn't above suffering from something as simple as sleep depravation.

"Then talk to me," Kai whispered. Max didn't even see his lips move.

"Okay." Max wasn't sure what to talk about. "Do you want to hear about some of the research that was going on while I was helping my mom?" That afforded more stories than he knew what to do with. He'd been sharing them one by one, mostly with the Chief when he was frustrated and needed to hear about someone else's work going wrong.

"There was this lady who works in the labs across from my mom," Max started when Kai didn't voice a preference. "She was experimenting with making these beyblade cores out of superconductors. I was in there helping her test the prototypes a lot and she showed me how they worked." Max paused, and Kai gave him a faint nod that Max interpreted as a hint to continue.

"It was a good idea, except they only work at really low temperatures so she would have to pour liquid nitrogen inside the blade to get them cold enough, and then it would boil off if you kept them out too long, so she was trying to insulate them without messing up the balance and everything. It was actually really cool looking! The blade would get so cold it would frost over because just the water in the air would freeze on it!"

Max had a reasonable stock of entertaining stories to share based on messing with the left-over liquid nitrogen. He went into those first. Like when Dr. Huck's boyfriend brought her roses for Valentines and the first thing she did was dip one in the liquid nitrogen dewar and smash it on the counter. Max still didn't understand why her boyfriend had thought that was funny.

He did try to tell Kai about the stuff that they were actually trying to do, like using magnets to get the blade to hover. Finally he got to the most exciting bit of the story.

"What we didn't realize is we were freezing and thawing the practice blade so much, we were stressing out the frame. I think something finally cracked inside. So one day I went to launch it, and it exploded! I mean, it just completely flew apart! There was beyblade shrapnel flying everywhere and drops of liquid nitrogen spinning across the floor and everything. I always thought she was crazy about insisting on us wearing goggles in her lab all the time, but I was really glad to have them right then."

Max paused to take a breath, watching Kai for any sort of reaction. He could swear Kai tensed up, hands curling into fists and eyes darting over to him before settling back on the road, but he didn't say anything.

"And do you know what she did after that?"

"Hm," Kai murmured. At least he was listening well enough to know Max had prompted him for an answer.

"She did it a bunch more times. I mean, stressing out a whole bunch of blades with the freezing and thawing until they broke. And then she wrote everything up in a research paper."

Max personally thought the whole thing was hilarious. The progression from surprise freezing shrapnel hitting him in the face to systematically destroying things and writing it up neatly as a research project appealed to him.

"She got this shield set up after the first one exploded, but my mom was still kind of mad when she found out I was helping with that."

Kai didn't respond, and Max sighed in frustration. That was one of his best stories, too. It had humor and explosions and breaking things disguised as research. What more could Kai want?

"Are you really listening, or do you just like the sound of my voice?"

"I'm listening."

Max was silent for a few minutes. At first he was actually sulking, just a little bit, at Kai's non-reaction. After a while he got to watching Kai, and his annoyance melted away.

The faint light and shadows of the night made the curves of Kai's face and jaw even more stark than usual. There were shadows under his chin, behind his ear, and where his bangs fell across his forehead, and Max wanted to slip his fingers into those places to touch the hidden skin.

The silvery parts of Kai's hair almost shone in the eerie light, making his mind serve up the idea of Kai as a gaunt, sleepless ghost. Max tried to pretend he only wanted to touch to reassure himself that Kai was there and real, but he couldn't fool even himself. No matter the lighting, Kai was too sturdy to mistake for a ghost. He just wanted to touch Kai because it was Kai.

Kai was watching him sideways in return. His gaze flicked away when Max caught him, but then back again only a moment later. Max felt a shiver go down his spine, and he didn't think it was the cold.

"Hey, Kai, you said there was something you needed to talk to me about," Max prompted. "This is private enough, right?"

There was a silence so full of delicious secrets surely just waiting to be revealed that Max could hardly stand it. He had to know what Kai wanted to tell him, just him alone, that he wouldn't share with anyone else.

"It's nothing," was all Kai said.

"What? But you were going to tell me!"

"It's not important."

"Of course it's important! You said you needed to talk to me, and now I'm right here for you. You know I'm listening. How can you say it's not important?"

Max was dancing on his toes in agitation, darting back and forth in front of Kai as if he would need to catch Kai's words when they came out. He wasn't paying attention to his own footing as he jumped about in front of Kai.

Faster than Max could think, his foot had shot out from under him as he skidded on a slippery patch of ice. He flailed for an instant, and Kai didn't so much catch him as happen to be in the exact right spot for Max to fall into.

Headbutting Kai in the chest, Max grabbed at Kai's coat to catch himself. Kai stood firm, his hands holding Max's arms to keep him from going down, though the grip could just as easily translate into pushing Max out of his personal space at any second.

For a moment Max stayed with his face pressed into Kai's chest, wondering if he could pretend his burning cheeks were just flushed from the cold. He felt like he always ended up making an idiot of himself in front of Kai. Why couldn't he ever pull off an instant of being dashing and cool and maybe have the slimmest chance of impressing Kai? No, he had to trip over his own feet and get hit in the face with beyblades.

This train of thought was abruptly cut off when Kai pushed him back, just enough so that he couldn't hide his face. What really made Max's brain grind to a halt was that Kai was still holding his arm, keeping contact even though Max was in no danger of falling now.

Max felt as if his heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest. Surely Kai was going to hear it and ask him what was wrong. Or worse, he would know. Or maybe he already knew. Maybe that was what he had wanted to talk about. It wasn't impossible, was it? Max couldn't help hoping that Kai would accept him, giddily pounding heart and all.

"I have something I want to tell you, too," Max whispered. It didn't come out as strained or nervous as he had feared. There was one thing. "You go first, okay?"

Kai let out a quiet sigh of exasperation. Max could practically hear the sentiment of, 'What am I going to do with you?' in that sigh, but there was something more than the tone that whipped the last of Max's good sense right out of his head. Kai's warm breath burned across his face.

Max shivered as he breathed in Kai's breath, feeling it warm on his lips. For an instant he was reminded of Kit's words. 'If you can't even imagine yourself kissing him. . .' but he could imagine it. Maybe he was delirious, but he could imagine Kai pressing more than an errant breath over his lips.

And then he wasn't imagining it. Max leaned up, still clutching at Kai's coat as if it was the only thing keeping him upright, and he pressed his mouth to Kai's in a clumsy kiss.

It wasn't until he actually did it that Max was aware how much he'd wanted to. He clung to Kai, trying to push closer.

Kai had a different reaction. His eyes snapped wide open in shock, and before Max had more than an instant to think that this was definitely better than he had imagined, Kai had bodily forced him away.

Losing his grip on Kai, Max stumbled back, windmilling his arms, and barely caught himself before he could fall in the snow.

Kai was staring at him, and there was an odd, sick, cold deep inside his heart that hurt worse than if he had fallen. Before Max could find his voice to apologize, to make an excuse, Kai had turned on his heel and started to storm away.

"Wait, Kai!" Max scrambled after him, trying to catch up without slipping again. "I'm sorry! It was a really stupid idea! I shouldn't have-"

Jerkily, Kai wiped the kiss away on the back of his hand. Max could tell even from behind.

"Come on, Kai, was it that bad?" Max wailed. This was not the reaction he'd wanted, not the one he'd foolishly hoped for, but it was what he should have expected. "I wasn't trying to make you mad! I just. . . like you."

Kai stopped abruptly at the breathless confession, so that Max ran into his back. He stayed there for a moment, wanting to hug Kai so that he wouldn't be left behind and knowing better. After a breathless, hopeless moment, he took a step back.

"What was that?" Kai demanded, his voice so low it was nearly a growl.

Max swallowed hard. His heart was trying to climb up into his throat. What did Kai expect him to say? Should he try to backtrack? To play it all off as a stupid joke?

"I kissed you because I like you," Max offered. It was that simple. So why did he feel as if he had messed up everything?

Kai's silence was nerve-wracking.

"I should have known better," Max went on, trying to push back the silence. "I mean, you told me you don't like anyone, so of course that includes me. Even if you did like someone it wouldn't be me. And I'm sorry, really sorry, for doing something like that. And I won't do anything like that ever again, so please don't-"

"Max, you're babbling. Stop."

Max paused to take a deep breath, then frowned at Kai's interruption. "I'm not babbling," he protested weakly.

Kai didn't look angry, even when Max crept closer and peeked up at his profile. He didn't have his usual unconcerned look, either. Max didn't know how to read his expression. His eyes were wide, staring off at something in the distance, before flicking over to focus on Max.

"Can you forgive me?" Max whispered. He needed Kai to forgive him for the momentary insanity of that kiss. What would he do if Kai didn't?

"I need to think about this."

"Kai, please just tell me you're not interested. I already know."

"Give me some time."

What did he need to think about? Max was afraid Kai needing time to think meant he would reconsider something else, like being friends at all.

"Kai. . ." Max pleaded.

"You're shivering. We should go back."

"I'm not cold."

"We're going back," Kai repeated. His eyes were hidden now, sinking into the shadows of his bangs as he turned to avoid Max's gaze.

Kai started to walk again, but this time Max didn't follow. He stayed rooted to the spot, half sure Kai wanted to be as far away from him as possible. When Kai looked around at him he actually took a step backwards.

"Max." Kai's firm voice seemed to hit him right in the heart, reminding him that this was a direct order from his beloved team captain.

Max trailed along after Kai, leaving a generous distance between them as his thoughts weighed him down. They would still be friends somehow, right? Kai tended to hold his grudges as tightly as a bear trap, but they were friends. Friends forgave and accepted and worked around old sore spots, didn't they?

"What are you doing?" Kai wanted to know. He stopped to look back at the slowly widening gap between them, and Max stopped as well. "Do you want to stay out here until you freeze?"

"No?" Max could only gaze at Kai, as hopeful as a lost puppy asking to be taken home.

"Then hurry up."

Max tagged along when Kai started off again, increasing his pace so that he was slowly gaining on Kai. Apparently he didn't catch up quickly enough, because Kai got fed up once again. He actually turned and strode back to where Max was, grabbed him by the arm, and started to pull him along at a hard pace just short of breaking into a run.

Max's heart was pounding far too hard for their brisk pace. Kai was staring straight ahead, so Max couldn't catch his eye. Not that he should be trying to. He had to concentrate on not stumbling over the hard ridges of snow and falling into Kai again.

There was an unexpected joy taking him over, just from Kai's brisk attitude. He should have known Kai didn't like him, but this made him equally sure that Kai didn't hate him either.

He hadn't realized how far they had gone. In the tense silence their walk back seemed to take hours. Even when Kai dropped his arm a minute or so after seizing it, trusting Max to keep up, it was okay. Max didn't need a verbal promise or that continued hard grip to know Kai wasn't abandoning him now.

No matter how angry he had made Kai, or even if he had ruined his one chance to explain how he felt, it was enough for Max to know that Kai still wanted to bring him home.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm sorry to leave this fic so long, but I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I am already working on chapter 13, so I hope I can get that one up more quickly (with a little more fluff for everyone to enjoy). Thank you to everyone who has read so far! I hope you enjoy it. I don't intend to abandon this fic any time soon. It's one of my favorite things and I love writing it. So I can only thank you for waiting as I take so long with updates.

I cannot thank my beta reader slr2moons enough for the work she did on this chapter. She did a wonderful job picking out all my mistakes and then put up with me asking her opinion on many revisions.

* * *

Kai had fully expected sleep to elude him after Max destroyed the calm of their walk together with that kiss. By the time he was able to escape to the solitude of his room his thoughts were a mess of confusion and frustration, trying to put together pieces that should have fit and suddenly didn't. He would not have been surprised to spend what remained of the night restlessly alternating between obsessing over every possible hint leading up to that moment and trying to forget the entire thing.

Instead he dropped into sleep almost immediately. The smokey presence of the nightmare lurking at the back of his mind had been damped down once again, and his body was taking advantage of that no matter how confused he felt. Any dreams that came to him weren't strong enough to follow him into his waking hours, especially not when the moment he woke his thoughts jumped immediately back to Max.

Last night, Max had kissed him. That was the undeniable fact that echoed through his mind even before his eyes cleared. It hadn't been a dream. Kai clearly remembered the warmth of Max's lips pressed against his. It hadn't been a mistake, or a moment of insanity, or anything Kai could excuse away and forget. Max had given him the reason, clear and simple and utterly unbelievable.

Kai dragged himself out of bed, stretched, and checked the time. Later than usual, though usual had become any time after midnight when he wrenched himself out of that dream and didn't dare lie back down. It was just before dawn, early enough to put himself together before anyone else was awake.

The first question in his mind was still how Max could have possibly wanted to kiss him. Max's explanation only made it harder to grasp, because it was impossible. Kai had made a point to be well aware of his own strengths and weaknesses, and it had been clear to him from an early age that he was not a loveable person. He considered himself to have a high worth, not the least of which being the reputation and respect he had worked for, but none of that made him an acceptable target for anyone's affection.

A few other people had made similar mistakes, deciding they were enamored with the idea of him without knowing anything about him, but this was different. Max _knew_ him now, knew so many of his flaws, and had seen him at his worst. Heedless enthusiasm aside, Max wasn't an idiot. How could he possibly think Kai was someone to be loved?

Even if Max was somehow getting around not only Kai's flaws but his inborn unlovable nature, Kai doubted he was capable of accepting Max's feelings, let alone returning them. His usual response would have been to ignore anyone who insisted on trying to get close to him until they went away, but Max was already part of his everyday world. More importantly, he didn't want Max to go away. What was he supposed to do?

Deciding he would be better able to think if he kept himself moving, Kai grabbed clean clothes and set out to take a shower before any of the others were awake.

The showers in the training center were of an ultimately utilitarian design. Checkerboard tiles of weathered almost-white and pale, dappled blue covered the floor and the lower third of the walls before giving way to plain white paint. The ranks of narrow shower stalls were a clear indication that the building was meant to be a dormitory. The only bathtub was square and shallow, set into the floor so that one had to step down into it.

Each shower stall had plastic curtains closing off a tiny cubicle in front of the shower itself. Kai hung up his clothes and towel in this space before stripping and stepping into the shower. He pulled the second curtain–plain white and streaked with soap scum–closed behind him and stood well out of the way of the frigidly cold water. The showers always took a moment to warm up, and the high, drafty ceiling let any steam escape so that the air would be uncomfortably cold while he dressed, but it was far from the worst Kai had put up with. So long as the place didn't reek of mold and mildew and leave him feeling dirtier than he had been when he started, Kai didn't much care.

As the water warmed enough for him to step under the spray, Kai's thoughts turned back to Max. It didn't matter how Max had somehow decided on the insanity of declaring that he liked Kai. What mattered now was how Kai responded. Having a friend he trusted and cared for, and even found himself deeply, confoundingly fond of, decide they were in love put him in a difficult position.

He understood the idea of love, at least from an outside perspective. He saw other people getting caught up in it all the time. Even his own teammates, younger than him, were interested in love. He had noticed Ray politely flirting and flattering as if he already understood some secret language of eyes and smiles, and had pretended not to notice when Kenny made a fool of himself over his own obvious crush on Hilary. Only Tyson seemed to be immune so far, but Kai would like to see anything that could take his attention away from Dragoon for more than a minute. It was different for Kai. He was aware of the concept, yet unaffected.

Kai had always known he was different from his peers, was apart from them on a fundamental level. He was sure it was reasonable to decide that he would never have those feelings. He had never wanted to deal with trying to find the other half to any relationship, be it romantic or sexual or anything in between. He wasn't going to waste time and make an idiot of himself seeking affection when he already knew that it was impossible.

What was it that made people go so crazy over the idea of finding a romantic partner, anyway? Was it all physical attraction, and the rest was only justification after the fact?

Kai had very little experience with, or patience for, physical affection. In that respect Max was his complete opposite. He sealed new friendships with handshakes, gave out friendly touches for encouragement, and hugged his parents with unrestrained affection. Kai couldn't remember the last time he'd hugged either of his own parents, though his father had left so long ago the point was probably moot there. It wasn't something he thought to do.

He had embraced Max, once. He couldn't forget that if he tried. It had been an unbelievably awkward moment. He hadn't known what to do with himself once he had Max pulled into his arms. Not to mention that his temporary insanity that night was probably directly responsible for the misunderstanding he was involved in right now. He couldn't rank it as the single stupidest mistake of his life, but it was right up there.

He wanted to do it again.

Not because he was physically attracted to Max. Kai clung to that fact with absolute certainty. It was because he needed Max. He wouldn't deny that there had been moments when he had needed support from all of them, or that he had been moved to return that support when they needed it from him. That interweaving of lives was a completely different kind of love that went under the name of 'friendship.' More than that, recently. Being with Max kept him sane. The place Max held in his life was the complete opposite of being attracted to him.

Unbidden, a mental image bubbled up in his mind. Max, stretched out like a cat relaxing in a sunbeam, one arm thrown carelessly over his head and his shirt flipped up to reveal a glimpse of his flat, soft stomach. Max had been smiling at him, his whole face lighting up in the moment he laid eyes on Kai. Even though he hadn't held that pose for long, even though there had been the others having some ridiculous fight over phone privileges, it hadn't occurred to Kai to move away from him after seeing that smile.

Kai tried to ignore the memory that he had so vividly stored away for no good reason. What was _wrong_ with him? His thoughts of Max shouldn't be like that. At least he could be sure he wasn't interested in Max physically if his first thought was of Max turning that smile on him. There were plenty of times when he had seen Max in no more than a towel-

Twisting the water around to cold, Kai harshly cut off that thought before it could get away from him. His whole body tensed with an involuntary grunt of discomfort as he struggled not to shiver. He _did not_ think of Max that way, and he wasn't going to start now.

He was uncomfortably aware that only a few days ago he had been struck with the idea that Max was attractive. He shouldn't have been thinking about Max that way, and not only because he had let the fact distract him at worst possible moment. Max was part of his everyday world. He shouldn't have to stop and think about things like that. Or maybe it was precisely because he was so used to looking at Max without noticing that the thought had surprised him.

It didn't matter if Max was somewhere on the overwhelmingly bright side of beautiful. If Kai noticed that, it just meant he wasn't blind to something right in front of him. Just because Max was attractive did not mean he was attracted to Max. Kai did not want to be attracted to Max. He didn't want to be attracted to anyone.

Max was already a weak spot in Kai's formerly armored heart because they were friends. He could practically feel the little hollow where those feelings resided if something triggered them. He cared for Max as a friend. That was all he was capable of, and even that was more than he would have thought he could offer even two years ago, in his life before the Bladebreakers.

The question was not if he was attracted to Max, it was how to deal with Max somehow being attracted to him. How did he let Max down with minimal damage? How did he explain that he needed Max with him as a friend without letting him misunderstand? How was he supposed to know what Max wanted from him, anyway?

It wasn't until that moment that Kai remembered Max had not only given him an out, but had begged him to take it. He had kept saying it would be all right if Kai wasn't interested, and by the end he had been practically pleading for Kai to reject him and get it over with. Why hadn't he seized that opportunity?

He should have turned Max down on the spot. Max had even remembered Kai saying he wasn't interested in anybody. If anyone would understand–or at least accept him–it would probably be Max. He might even give Kai that irrepressible smile of his and make it clear they were still friends, or something like that. Max didn't seem to believe in holding grudges. Kai had done much worse in abandoning the team, only to be welcomed back again. Max was too kind to even remind him of what a stupid ass he had been.

Or was that all wishful thinking? Max could let himself get hurt over the littlest things. Kai had seen the happiness fall right off of his face just because his mother didn't have time to talk. How would he take outright rejection? Would he be hurt? Kai wasn't under the impression that he was worth being hurt over, and yet the possibility remained.

Would he disappear from Kai's nights altogether? It finally occurred to Kai that Max keeping close to him, favoring him with smiles and distracting chatter and the occasional touch, and most especially being around when Kai needed him, might only be because of his crush. Even if they went back to being friends and teammates with no trouble, would Max stay as close as he had been? Kai couldn't believe he would.

There was no escaping the fact that he needed Max right now. If Max didn't want to be around him so much, if he hadn't cared for Kai enough to give him some small measure of calm and comfort, Kai had a feeling he would have succumbed to sleep deprivation or his own temper by now.

Kai didn't want to love Max, but he had a nagging feeling that he needed Max to love him.

When Kai emerged from the shower, shivering even after he dried himself and toweled away the cold water dripping from his hair, the others were already up and about. He told himself that was fine. He didn't need any extra predawn hours to brood over Max. He was going to set things straight as quickly as possible. It had been cruel to Max to make him wait this long.

But somehow, when faced with the bright smile Max threw his way, he couldn't say anything.

He couldn't say it in front of the rest of the team anyway.

If he didn't want to think about Max any more, Kai needed to get away. As long as Max was close by he was like a bright spot on Kai's awareness, never fully forgotten. Maybe if he pulled away from that fixation he could even escape himself, just for a little while.

* * *

Going back to sleep and forgetting all of the mistakes he had made last night seemed awfully tempting to Max as he sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He was short on sleep, for one thing. And last night had just been one bad idea after another.

Yet he didn't entirely regret it. Getting into his head that Kai liked him, that was bad. Kissing Kai. . . that wasn't exactly a regret, but he should have known better. But getting everything out in the open? Max knew he didn't regret that. He had confessed to Kai, maybe badly, but at least honestly. He would even rather have the honesty of rejection than the uncertainty of wondering what might be possible.

Kai would reject him, and things would definitely be awkward between them for a while, but Max told himself he had been prepared for that, no matter what he hoped. If it was a choice between getting out of bed and facing Kai, or laying around feeling sorry for himself, there was no question what he would do. Right now Max had nowhere to go but up.

What was he supposed to say to Kai when they ran into each other, anyway? It wasn't until he was in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to eat for breakfast, that it occurred to him it would be good to have something in mind. Otherwise he would probably just stare hopefully at Kai like an idiot.

Should he apologize again? Should he pretend nothing had happened? Kai could get a real death-grip on a grudge when you offended him, and he wasn't quick to forgive. Max was pretty sure he had been angry about the kiss; it had definitely shocked him, but would it be enough to form a grudge?

Max was determined to go through his normal routine, but he got himself stuck going through the bottom cupboard where they had stashed the cereal boxes, picking up the same ones and putting them back again without any real appetite. He was barely thinking about what he was doing, lost in his own thoughts.

He wasn't sure he could even apologize properly, because he didn't really regret kissing Kai. For just a second he had shared a kiss with Kai, and he would hold that memory to himself even if he never got that close again. Even though Max was glad he had confessed, that was one secret it would be best not to mention to Kai.

With that realization, Max couldn't will away his own heated blush. He had to stick his whole head in the cupboard to hide the reaction, hoping that Kai wouldn't chose that moment to walk in.

"What are you doing?"

Max jumped, hitting his head on the top of the cupboard as he did. At least it was just Tyson. He backed out again, clutching a cereal box that had been pushed to the very back in an effort to hide his face.

"Getting breakfast?" Max answered, sheepishly. At least now he had a reason to look embarrassed.

"You eat that stuff?"

Max finally took a look at the box he was holding and realized it was the weird old-person bran stuff that Mr. Dickenson had bought for the few nights he'd stayed at the center. "I could try it?" he suggested, but quickly put it back. No wonder it had gotten shoved behind everything else.

Tyson laughed and selected his own breakfast, unconcerned when Max followed him to the table and stole a bowl of his cereal. It was better than staring at choices he didn't seem to have room in his brain for.

Max tried to mentally tick through his options while he ate, settling on being a little distant, giving Kai space to think. Kai had said he needed to think. He would like that, wouldn't he?

Of course the minute he stepped into their practice space and actually saw Kai, Max had chirped out a cheerful, "Good morning, Kai!" before he could think about it.

Kai glanced over at him with a low, "Morning," as his answer. He seemed no more anti-social than usual. Maybe they weren't ignoring each other, then. Max smiled at him hopefully.

Of course Kai didn't say a word to him after that. The weather was nice enough for them to do their jogging rounds outside. Max kept feeling self-consciously that their tracks from the night before couldn't go unnoticed, but nobody commented. He also had to keep fighting the urge to look around at Kai.

Max knew he was over-thinking things, but not even the crisp air could seem to clear out his head. Was Kai letting his confession lie, letting things go back to normal? Would Kai bother acting normal just because the others were around? He was so confident it was easy to believe he didn't care what anyone thought.

And what about what Ray had confided to him earlier, that his company might be making Kai feel better with whatever it was he was going through? What if he had scared Kai off of confiding in him or taking comfort in his presence, or whatever it was Kai needed from him? What if he had left Kai without help? He couldn't do that! He had promised himself to be there if Kai needed him!

Before Max figure out how to express this to Kai, morning exercises were over and his target had disappeared. It seemed like the minute he took his eyes off of Kai, Kai took off.

Having Kai disappear quietly for a while wasn't the worst that could have happened today, all things considered. This was close enough to the status quo that it didn't mean anything. Maybe Kai's answer was to behave like nothing had happened.

Max just couldn't help thinking that he would like Kai to have stayed. Maybe he could make things better with a nice, familiar battle. That would help them both be sure where they stood.

"Where does he keep running off to, anyway?" Max wondered to himself.

Kenny looked up from his computer for a moment. "He didn't say. And if you don't know, how can we? You follow him."

"He usually doesn't go to the same places, I don't think." Max tried to explain. As far as he knew, Kai just wandered.

"Typical," Tyson snorted, which was true enough that Max couldn't argue with it. "We should get a new move ready to kick his butt later. That'll teach him to skip out on practice!"

"Alright," Max laughed, because at least that would keep his mind off of Kai for a little while. They had to have a minute together sooner or later. Max would find a chance to make it clear they were friends first, and he would always be there for Kai, even if he was sure Kai already knew that.

* * *

There were countless places Kai could have gone to be alone. Just wandering without a location in mind would have sufficed. But if he wanted company of someone who knew him, and expected no more of Kai than he expected of himself, there was only one place to turn.

He didn't feel wrong for not staying and confiding in one of his few close friends, but the thought glanced across his mind that maybe he should. There was some sort of ideal there, a 'true' friend–as inseparable as another limb–who could be counted on for anything. It wasn't that he doubted them. They had seen far worse sides of him and had never yet deserted him for it. Maybe he doubted himself. Mostly he thought Max would need their support more than he did.

Right now what Kai wanted wasn't support or well-meaning advice. He wanted someone who knew him, who wasn't blinded by the idea of liking him.

Tala was an old ally. They knew exactly where they stood with each other, and Kai appreciated that. He could have said they would never turn their backs on each other, not in the sense of comradery, but because they both knew better. Tala had no illusions about him.

Kai took a faint turning off of the main road, walking out into what seemed for a little over a mile to be a completely undeveloped area, before the land dipped slowly into a wide valley. He came suddenly upon a long, low building that had been practically built into the sloping ground. He occasionally wondered if Mr. Dickenson knew there was a privately owned training center so close to them. He probably wouldn't have brought the team out here if he had known it was also in use.

Tala was outside already, leaning against the low fence that marked off the area around the building without being visible enough from a distance to announce it, watching his approach before Kai had even noticed he was there.

"I had a feeling you'd show up today."

Kai shrugged off the implication that his former teammate knew anything about his schedule. He hadn't been consistent in when he chose to show up.

"Saw an old friend of yours around," Tala commented as Kai climbed through the fence without waiting for an invitation. He had straightened up, one hand moving to rest automatically on his launcher, though he didn't draw it.

"I don't have any old friends." Kai was instantly on his guard. He knew Tala was being sarcastic, even if his deadpan voice failed to take on the right tone. Tala himself was the closest thing Kai had to an 'old friend.' More like a brother, as Kai understood it. No matter if they failed to trust or even like each other at times, there was a weight of years between them that came from being raised side-by-side.

Tala laughed, but the sound was sharp enough to heighten Kai's sense that something was not right. "I know. Boris has been sniffing around again. Could've sworn he'd packed up and left months ago, but then we spotted him in town a few days after your team's little exhibition."

"I haven't seen him around." The skin on the back of Kai's neck crawled with a familiar dread. Old survival tactics and older fear flashed briefly through his thoughts. That pushed his worry that Max would become less friendly and supportive back into perspective. He'd survived without support before, after all.

"Not saying it has anything to do with you. Just watch out for yourself." Even if Tala said that, Kai noticed he had relaxed his grip on the launcher. As if he had somehow expected Boris to be following Kai down the road.

Kai gave a stiff nod in response, trying to pretend he hadn't noticed the moment of paranoid tension. He was grateful for the warning, but logically he knew neither of their teams should be of interest. Even when he was working under Voltaire, Boris had stuck to using unknowns. He singled out bladers no one would miss if injury forced a premature retirement.

There was no way his team would be of interest, Kai told himself. None of them were so green and desperate that they would take the offer to be part of his experiments on the slim hope that it would boost their skills and earn them a place on a sponsored team, and their departure would be far too conspicuous for Boris to approach any of them in the first place. Trying to warn them meant he would have to try to explain, which would upset them at best and more likely lead to them doing something pigheaded and reckless. It would be safer not to say anything.

Kai could almost completely believe that, too. It was still strange to be worrying about others and not just looking out for himself. No, Kai found himself sincerely, preemptively worried. Not even feeling stress over a threat on the horizon, but fearing a vague impossibility that wasn't impossible enough for his liking.

The overbearing desire to protect them was still unfamiliar at times. Kai couldn't entirely blame his upbringing, or his early training, for his apparent difficulty in forming friendships. In spite of the cutthroat competition he had seen friendships forged even among the fiercest fighters. Alliances had been made among others, ones that didn't end at the first chance of betrayal.

Kai hadn't formed bonds like that himself, not then. He'd thought himself beyond all of that. All he had was a handful of people he could ally himself with, like Tala, and he had been happy with that. Even now they knew exactly where they stood with each other, and each expected the other to look after themselves.

Now Kai had people he couldn't just leave alone and expect them to take care of themselves. They knew something of the dark side of the sport, but they still got so worked up about something as basic as 'cheating.' Kai was sure they would be exhausted of that outrage if they knew the extent. He didn't want them to _know_, to understand it because they had been through worse than losing an unfair match or two.

He remembered Max writing him once in utter indignation about some kid trying out for his mother's team with an illegal mod (which was stupid enough, since the rules on beyblade limitation for official matches were already so lenient that there was barely anything to gain). Max was still innocent to things like that, and Kai wanted him to stay that way, even as the paranoia that had served him so well for most of his life insisted that innocence made Max a more likely victim.

Max would trust a smooth operator like Kit. He trusted Kai unthinkingly in spite of every mistake Kai had made, in spite of Kai spending the first few months of their acquaintance specifically telling Max not to trust him. If Max trusted someone like Boris. . . Kai didn't even want to hold both of them in his mind at the same time. Max should be kept a world away from threats like that.

The calm that had settled at the back of Kai's mind last night unraveled at that thought. He tasted bile, sharp and sudden as sparks, on the back of his tongue. The flash of anger came up so suddenly that all he had to force it down again was more anger. He would not let anyone like that get their hands on Max. Ever.

"Is Brian here?" It was unreasonable to hold a grudge for his former teammate's dirty tactics when Ray had won that match in spite of everything thrown at him, but there was no love lost between them. Right now he wasn't looking for a grudge match. The suppressed anger rolling through the back of his mind wanted someone who wouldn't bat an eye if he went out of control, just fight back as viciously as Kai deserved.

"No, it's me or no one." Tala put one hand on his hip as he looked Kai up and down, then grinned. "You only ever show up when you want a practice match. Get bored with your team again?"

Boredom was one problem Kai definitely didn't have, but he still wasn't passing up Tala's offer. He followed Tala to the outdoor arena, where the dish was covered by a thin rim of ice. It would make an interesting hazard. He would be glad to have something real to focus on.

The uneven ice took Kai's full concentration. It splintered easily along the rim, while the bottom had uneven ridges and rough patches hidden in shadow just waiting to trip him up. While he was focused like this, everything was as it should be. Dranzer's warm presence was steady, familiar, easier than Kai could remember it being in a long time.

Dranzer's heat melted most of the ice from the sides, leaving them damp and slick and creating a water hazard in the bottom. They circled around the sides, Tala letting Wolborg dip close enough to the water to kick up a spray, dousing Dranzer and gaining himself an opportunity to loop around and go on the attack.

The last bit of ice came free of the bottom to float like a miniature iceberg. Kai dodged Tala's harrying by darting down and across the water, using that floating bit of ice as a stepping stone to skip across to the other side. It was the sort of move that would have made Max laugh in delight. He loved unexpected twists like that.

But Max was the one who was full of unexpected twists, wasn't he? Kai's heart jumped at the thought. He never knew what to expect from Max next. Max, being the bright point for him to orient to when he was lost, and at the same time turning everything upside down with one stupid kiss. He made Kai's heart race without even being there. Kai clamped down on that giddy, confused feeling, smothering it.

Forcing his focus back to the match, Kai overpowered Tala's blade and pushed it down into the water. The spray splashed over both Dranzer and Kai, but in the end Wolborg was in too far to keep spinning and sunk.

Tala didn't even flinch at having to retrieve his blade from the icy water. He shook Wolborg dry, turned it in his hand to check for damage, and finally fixed Kai with an impassive look.

"Okay, what is going on with you?"

"What."

"Leaving aside that you wanted a match with Brian when you normally act like his tactics are beneath you, you are being weird. You come over here in one of your moods, but then you had some goofy look on your face a minute ago."

"I did not."

Tala raised one eyebrow at him, not even entertaining his denial. "You were smiling at nothing. It was kind of creepy."

Kai wasn't sure he believed it. He had only been thinking about their battle, with Max slipping into his thoughts for just an instant. Nothing to smile about. Tala knew him better than anyone, but he had to be wrong about that.

Tala tapped his launcher absentmindedly against his open hand, relaxing his shoulders out of a ready position. The impatient gesture said more clearly than words that he expected some explanation.

"I had a situation come up with one of my teammates that I need to think about. That's all."

"You looking for a new team?"

"No. We're staying together for the season. I'm not wasting all that training. Besides, you're taking the year off, right?" Kai wasn't exactly worried about wasting training, but he suspected they would have more than their title to defend. He intended to stay alongside the Bladebreakers. He would weather this out with the few people he trusted nearly as well as he trusted himself.

Tala shrugged, unconcerned. No single member of the Blitzkrieg Boys was actually barred from competing, but they had cut ties with their former sponsor and were laying low for the moment. Kai wouldn't argue with them taking time to sharpen their skills before taking on the world again. He had actually quit for several months, needing to stop and recenter himself.

"Can't blame me for trying." This wasn't the first time Tala had opened the subject and allowed it to drop, but only the first attempt had been serious. They both knew nothing would come of it, not this season. Kai had set his loyalties, such as they were, with the Bladebreakers.

Apart from the obvious, practical reasons for staying together, and in spite of still not knowing how to react, Kai wanted to spend more time with Max. There was more than circumstance and the framework of the team holding them together now. To say he wanted to be close to Max was an understatement. He craved Max's company, and simply being with Max made him feel better.

"Are you expecting me to guess what's happening? Because you know I don't like those games."

Kai almost wanted to laugh at that. He didn't intend to play games with Tala, but even if he had wanted to ask outright for advice, he wasn't sure how much of the situation he wanted to reveal.

"One of them is expecting something of me that I can't do for him," Kai explained evasively. He didn't feel like giving the details of Max's confession, let alone his actions.

"And is there a reason you didn't just tell him 'no?'"

Kai shook his head. Max had been begging him to say 'no,' to just be rejected and get it over with. Even what he had just told Tala wasn't accurate. Max wasn't expecting anything of him. Kai was the one who was expecting something of himself if he was still looking for an answer.

"It's the little excitable one?"

"Max, yes." Kai knew his lips quirked in amusement at the description.

"Huh," was all Tala said, as if that explained something.

"What?"

"He's your favorite, right?"

"Why does everyone keep assuming there's something special about him?" Kai was sure he hadn't said or done anything to expose just how much he needed Max right now, at least not in front of Tala.

"I don't know, is there?"

Tala was needling him, and he didn't appreciate it. He wasn't going to say Max wasn't special, but admitting it would only lead right into a conclusion Kai didn't want to make. Glowering at Tala and pretending the topic didn't exist wouldn't fool him, but at least it saved Kai from having to answer.

Tala was unimpressed by his cold silence. He knew Kai far too well. They wordlessly tipped the water out of the dish and set up for a second round.

They quickly fell into a stalemate, trading blows around the bottom of the dish. Tala gave him time to fall into a pattern before bringing the subject up again.

"Not that I can actually offer advice when you won't tell me what's really happening, but he has to be used to your attitude by now. What are you so worried about?"

What was he worried about? Kai could see the worst in his mind's eye, but he couldn't seem to put it into words. He could picture Max's wide, sweet eyes filled with silent pain because of him. Because Max was so blindly loving, and Kai was just broken. He didn't want that. Even if Max had asked to be rejected, Kai couldn't imagine a lack of love being anything but painful for Max. Not to mention that he didn't know where he would be without his teammate's faithful presence.

They were weaving up and down around the edge of the rim, dueling back and forth with each blow harder than the last. Kai buckled down, focusing utterly on Dranzer with every sense. The answer that came out surprised even him.

"I want to be able to do it for him."

He wanted Max to be happy, which was an odd enough feeling, but there was the purely selfish as well. On some level, Kai really did want to be with Max. He felt better just being in Max's presence. That was the whole reason he had come to the realization that he needed Max, after all.

"So what's the problem?" Tala wanted to know. He didn't even bother to poke fun at Kai's stupidity.

Max wasn't his problem. The only problem was inside of his own head. He had to admit he needed Max. . . to Max himself.

Tala knocked Dranzer out with a sharp laugh of victory. Even as Dranzer hit the ground, Kai felt as if his world was inching back into place. Neither one of them needed to ask to know it was best of three. They set up for a last round, facing each other once again.

"Well?" Tala prodded, and he didn't need to clarify for Kai to know he was being asked if he had his head back in the game now.

"No problem."

* * *

"Max, stop dodging it!"

Max was laughing so hard he nearly gave Tyson what he wanted, but there was no way he would let his friend win that easily. Draciel darted out of the way of Dragoon's flying attack. Max's sense of fun had him circling around Tyson's blade as it wobbled into an early death.

Grumbling to himself, Tyson retrieved his blade once again. He had been trying to use Dragoon's wind powers to fling the beyblade in the air and come down on his opponent in a surprise attack. So far he had the liftoff working well enough, but every landing had forced him to retire from the match and try again.

"It might work better as a surprise attack?" Max suggested. After all, he already knew what was coming, and knew to look for the tell-tale vortex that formed just before Dragoon flipped up in the air.

"That might be easier if you didn't yell 'death from above' right before doing it," Kenny commented.

"But that's half the fun!"

Max was trying not to dissolve into laughter again and lose his own concentration. He left Draciel spinning so Tyson could try again. Watching for Tyson's tells, not the least of which was "death from above," he let his blade curl out of the way again at the last second.

"Fine, be that way. I'll get you later when you're not expecting it." Tyson dashed back to the door and stuck his head out into the common room. "Hey, Ray!"

"I know what you're up to. I can hear you in there," Ray called back.

"Darn it. Don't tell Kai!" Tyson shouted.

"Let's keep trying." Max had to admit, he really wanted to see the look on Kai's face if "death from above" actually took him out. If that kind of flying attack had been Draciel's strength he would be trying to master it too. He didn't think he could keep Draciel spinning after a landing like that. Not that Tyson had managed to either, so far.

"You gonna let me hit you this time?"

"No way!" Max stuck out his tongue cheekily, relaunching Draciel to get his momentum back to full power. "It's no good if you can't even hit a moving target."

"Oh, fine. I'll get you this time!"

The spark in Tyson's eye told Max he was going to try a different strategy, so he was on his guard. This time Tyson had Dragoon aimed to come in more sharply, somehow anticipating which way Max would dodge, so that their blades hit at an angle.

Dragoon knocked Draciel off balance and shot off on a new course. Tyson dove to intercept his blade, catching it just as Draciel flipped over on one side. He hit the floor like a runner sliding into base.

"Two points!" Tyson crowed, holding up Dragoon in victory. "And better reflexes than Kai! You okay, Chief?" he directed at Kenny, who had been about two feet out of Dragoon's intended path. He still looked a little shaken, though.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Did you just use me as a shield?" came a scathing voice from Kenny's computer. Max clapped one hand over his mouth, trying to hold in his laugh.

"I wasn't thinking! I was just startled!" Kenny protested.

"So that's a tie, right?" Max suggested, picking Draciel out of the dish and checking his sturdy beyblade for any damage. Tyson crossed his arms sulkily where he lay on the floor. He didn't like ties. He preferred having a clear winner, and usually he wanted to keep going until they got to that point.

"I hate to say it, Tyson, but that's not a very effective attack," Kenny interrupted over the virtual tongue-lashing he was getting from his offended computer. "Best case scenario is you take out both blades for a tie, and if you miss you won't get another shot."

"Yeah, but maybe with practice?" Max suggested. "If you could figure out how to land it without wiping out. . . like if the landing angle went with your torque to keep up momentum instead of wasting it on the shock. . ."

Tyson was giving him a look.

Max shifted uneasily under the scrutiny. "What?"

"Since when do you talk like that? And what's a torque?"

"I've been talking with my mom a lot," Max mumbled, feeling his ears go hot with embarrassment. It wasn't that weird, was it?

"Actually, that could work," Kenny mused, suddenly typing away again as he calculated the possibilities. "Of course, the mental calculations necessary to make that work on the spot would be. . . um. . . well, they might be prohibitive."

"You guys are no fun," Tyson complained. "At all. I can count how much fun you are on zero fingers."

"Just, um. . ." Max tried to think of how he would actually do it himself, rather than how to explain it to his mom or Kenny. "When you hit the dish, you want to take off, not dig in." Max clapped one hand across the other to illustrate. "Like skipping stones, y'think?"

"Max, that didn't make any sense. You're going to confuse-"

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Tyson sprang up off of the floor. "I can totally do that. Let's try it!"

Tyson could indeed do it once he had a strategy. Dragoon hit Draciel on one side, skipping over the beyblade, and landed lightly on the other side without losing momentum while Draciel was left unbalanced, on the verge of collapse.

"One more time: Death from above!"

Max voiced an excited shout along with Tyson's whoop of victory when Draciel hit the bottom of the dish, knocked out of the fight. It was always great to see a new technique finally do what it was supposed to.

"Okay, now see if you can do that without me taking it easy on you," Max teased, grinning with the challenge.

"You were not 'taking it easy' on me."

"I was so taking it easy on you."

"Well, I'm not taking it easy on you the next time you're trying to practice a new move."

"Bring it on!"

"What are you two doing?"

Somehow Kai had come in behind them without either of them noticing. Max jumped while Tyson jerked around to face their captain as if they had been caught at something.

"Ray, you were supposed to warn us when he got back! How long have you been standing there?" Tyson burst out to cover his own nervous reaction.

"You never told me to warn you." Ray had come in behind Kai, so that the whole team was finally gathered for practice.

Max found himself caught in Kai's gaze. It couldn't be his imagination. Kai was focused on him, staring right at him as if he were the only one there.

"Yes?" Max prompted. Kai wanted something, didn't he? Would he reject Max right here in front of everyone? No, Kai was too private of a person for that. Besides, if he wanted to be cruel to Max, he'd passed up so many chances already.

"Hey, Earth to Kai," Tyson butted in.

"Max," Kai started. He took a few steps closer, hands hidden in his pockets. Max was transfixed.

"Yes?" He repeated.

Kai fixed him with a sharp gaze that made his heart start up excited acrobatics in his chest. When he eagerly met Kai's gaze, it was only to have Kai glace away, off to one side.

"Do you need to scold me about my technique or something?" Max suggested, trying to give Kai an excuse to tell him they needed to talk alone. He sidestepped, seeking Kai's evasive eyes. He was sure Kai would be looking for a way to tell him no, he could never love Max. And that would be the opening Max wanted–no, needed–to tell Kai it was okay and he would always be there for Kai, because they were friends first, and that was the most important.

"Never mind."

All in one motion Kai turned on his heel and walked out.

"Oh." Max didn't know how to react, but he was pretty sure that hadn't been a sign for him to follow. "I guess I made him mad?" He suggested, mostly for the benefit of the others who had been watching the exchange.

"Oh come on, what did _you _do?"

A lot of things. More than he wanted to explain. And, apparently, more than Kai was willing to forgive right away.

* * *

The unusual silence that permeated the entire center bore down on Kai. He had wanted a little quiet, but now that he had it the silence made him uneasy. It was unnatural.

Kai searched for the few people he knew had to be there, somewhere. Every room he moved through seemed to be deserted, until he finally came across the first sign of his team. A laptop, with the screen cracked right down the middle, so that it was almost split in two. Kai put his hand out to touch it, shocked, because Kenny would never just dump his precious computer like that.

He smelled smoke before he saw it. Black Dranzer was looming up to the ceiling, little more than a shadow of wings, but it seemed to mock him with the knowledge of where his friends had gone. Kai clenched his hand on the broken laptop, more angry than horrified by the implication that it had taken them from him.

The jagged edge where the screen cracked and split was digging into his hand, but Kai didn't feel a thing. He stared at it, forcing his mind to grasp what should have been obvious. It was a dream. Just another dream. Nothing to stop him waking and escaping Black Dranzer with ease.

Yet even when Kai opened his eyes and dug his nails into his palm to confirm he was really awake, he couldn't completely ignore the urge to check on his teammates and make sure that they were still safe and sound.

There was a faint smell of smoke hanging in the air. Kai rose and paced around his room for a few minutes, but he couldn't find a source and it quickly faded anyway. He decided he must have imagined it because of the dream.

After the deafening silence in his dream, the one thing Kai wanted was to hear another voice. He wanted to hear Max's voice more than anything. It wouldn't matter what Max wanted to talk about so long as he was there. The realization was no longer a surprise.

Kai went so far as to leave his room and let his feet take him to stand in Max's doorway. The door was open, and Kai looked inside without intruding. Max hadn't tried to wait up for him tonight, but why should he? Kai had failed to find words adequate to tell Max what he needed. He'd meant to, after coming to the realization, but when he tried he realized again that he didn't have the words to make himself clear. How was he supposed to offer that, to ask for that?

Even the sight of Max curled up in bed, sleeping peacefully, brought Kai a hint of comfort and a slow swelling of affection. No nightmares troubled his youngest teammate. Kai could tell even in the dim light, and that was exactly how he wanted it.

Kai had expected he would never be in love with anyone, but he still wanted to be near Max. He cared for Max more deeply than he had ever expected to care for anyone, and maybe that was the answer he needed. Was that all there was to liking someone? Maybe that was enough to answer Max's feelings. Maybe it wasn't impossible, even for him, to accept and return Max's affection.

Maybe, rather than simply needing Max, he could offer something of himself in return. If he cared for Max, and in spite of himself he knew he did, then maybe the gap to love wasn't so wide that he couldn't at least reach Max from where he was.

Kai braced one hand on the doorframe as he watched for another minute before turning away, refusing to interrupt Max's easy sleep because of his own restlessness. He would have no company from Max this time, no voice to drown out his nightmares. Kai told himself that was all right. He still hadn't given Max his answer, and he had no right to ask anything of Max until he had. He would survive.

He just wouldn't sleep.


End file.
